Hope Peterson

Bio

Hope Peterson is a media artist and filmmaker originally from Winnipeg, now living in Toronto. She is an MFA graduate of Concordia's Open Media program. Her work is in the collections of the National Gallery of Canada and the University of Winnipeg, and has been exhibited nationally and internationally.

Works

Threshold Economics

2011
Hope Peterson

Shot over a period of a year and a half in and around a Winnipeg apartment building, Threshold Economics is surveillance video by the occupant subject.

Transition Ramp

2006
Hope Peterson

A traveller on the metro finds herself in a state of suspension while transferring between stations. Personal security and freedom of movement vie for private space in a public place.

Ambit

2005
Hope Peterson

Reeling in the filthy lanes of Winnipeg, a malfunctioning but still-observant camera conducts a post-traumatic investigation.

Memorial Park

1998
Hope Peterson

This work is a fantasy of freedom, in which a stroll in the park gives rise to an opening up of unstable sexual codes, shifting identities and the empowering game of come and go.

One Story

1994
Hope Peterson, Erika MacPherson

One Story was originally produced as part of the Community Play “Travois” in 1994. It is a look into the various complicated and overlapping stories that inform the current urban and traditional culture of the First Nations peoples. The questionable politics that dictate Status and the paternalism of Treaty Days are juxtaposed with the pow wow, the voice of graffiti and the street.

Surface Damage

1992
Hope Peterson

A variety of scars on women’s bodies are labeled either “surgical”, “self-inflicted” or “other”. The categories break down and overlap as the tape progresses, the image interrupted from time to time by scenes of a scarification.

Night Bus to Fargo

1991
Hope Peterson, Maureen Medved

Galvanized by the opportunity promised by the looming North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), a shy and idealistic Winnipeg artist seeks fame and fortune in the USA. Heading for the international border on the notorious "Night Bus to Fargo", she meets a host of hinterland hopefuls also making a break for the great cultural supermarket south of the 49th.

Selling the Flamingo

1989
Hope Peterson

Selling the Flamingo looks at memory and sentiment through the liquidation of one of Winnipeg’s premiere landmarks, the Flamingo Motel.

Stain

1988
Hope Peterson

A stain mysteriously appears on a woman’s clothes. Is it real? Is it dangerous? Where did it come from, and above all, how to get it out? Who is responsible for the anger that remains after an everyday sexual assault?

Armour For Living

1987
Hope Peterson

The Common Handbag: it contains the only survival equipment carried by many women. Is it a useless burden, or a vital accessory? This short story plunges into the woman’s “tool box”.