Nurit Basin

Random pics from Ghana

2011-03-23T03:37:00.000-07:00

Cantonments, the football team I did my placement with.

My room, my bed is on the left.

My friend Keeyah, another Canadian! We traveled together in my last week in Ghana.

This is the house I lived in.

Children's Osu Orphange

Tamale, bus station.

My stuff shoved in the back of the tro tro with a folded bed.

These two Danes killed me in Ghana....Philip (left) and Toke (right). They killed me laughing:)

Boabeng Fiema Monkey Sanctuary

2011-03-23T02:51:00.000-07:00

Mole National Park

2011-03-23T02:46:00.000-07:00

Wli Falls & Monkey Sanctuary

2011-03-23T02:30:00.000-07:00

Waterfall Lodge resort.

Budget lunch....water sachet, bread, beans and tuna.

Puppies in the village.

Pineapple growing....that was definitely my favourite fruit in Ghana.

Coffee beans.

View from the 2 hour hike we did to the falls.

This was the monkey sanctuary we visited from Wli falls.

This was the village beside the monkey sanctuary.

Kakum National Park, Cape Coast & Elmina images

2011-03-22T13:10:00.000-07:00

Cape Coast Castle

Oasis Resort in Cape Coast

View from the Cape Coast Castle

Kakum National Park

This sign was posted in the Mighty Victory Hotel in Cape Coast.

Fishing...

Cape Coast Castle

Outside Cape Coast Castle

Entrance to Elmina Castle

View from Elmina Castle

Outside Elmina Castle

Elmina Castle

Pics from Busua Beach and the Nzulezo Stilt Village

2011-02-09T04:16:00.000-08:00

I love this beach, the sand feels like you're walking on chocolate. The beach was very clean and the water was perfect. I wasn't nearly as rouch as it was in Ada Foah.

Joseph, one of the local kids collaborated with me on one of my drawings in the sand. I also got him to draw random stuff.

That's Joseph...

I was really lucky to have a whole bucket of fish right behind me in a Tro. I believe I mentioned on another post how hot it gets inside, especially when it doesn't move.

Next day we went to visit the Nzulezo Stilt Village, I've never seen anything like it before. The whole village (450 population) is on water.

School Bell...

The house on the left is the guest house we stayed in.

This is the room we stayed in, covered in newspapers and no mosquito nets, so I drenched myself in bug repellent spray.

Scenery from the canoe ride to the village.

Aba-Vivian, she couldn't get enough of the camera and my sunglasses.

Saw some beautiful lilies on the canoe ride to the village.

This is the main street in the village.

Drinking Plam Wine, it was pretty good!

One of three classrooms in the village.

Just some local pics...

2011-02-09T03:29:00.000-08:00

This is a Tro Tro....I'm still having fun riding it.

Inside a Tro, usually very hot, the door is attached by rope, it's not anything like the TTC. It's definitely more fun that's for sure:)

My house mates at Enigma a local bar across the street from us.

Local Chop bar I sometimes have lunch at before my afternoon session.

First Soccer Match

2011-02-09T03:22:00.000-08:00

The Cantonments (red and white) is the soccer team I train. This was their first game of the season.

Ada Foah

2011-02-09T03:16:00.000-08:00

This was my first travelling trip on my second weekend. 21 of us (volunteers) drove 2 hours in a Tro to this beautiful place. There was a lake on one side and the ocean on the other side. The hut we stayed in just had a bed and a mosquito net.

Ada Foah Intro: Ada Foah is a town in Ghana, Greater Accra Region, at the seashore along the road from Ada Kasseh, just off the Accra-Aflao motorway. It is located along the Volta River and the Volta River Estuary with many islands and river arms and the Atlantic Ocean. Ada Foah is the capital of the Dangme East District and the seat of the District Assembly.

This was the hut I stayed in. Each door had a different country flag. They also had a Canadian door but someone got that before me.

My "starbucks" coffee...

Pics from James Town and Big "dollar store" market

2011-02-09T03:05:00.000-08:00

This was a fun day, it was my first weekend in Ghana, so I stayed in the city and hang out with my house mates and other volunteers that were around. We visited James Town and a very busy market that sold items you'd see in a dollar store. So I called this market the Big Dollar Store Market.

Quick history on James Town: It originated as a community that emerged around the 17th century British James Fort on the Gulf of Guinea coast, and became a part of Accra as the city grew. A lighthouse, the Jamesfort Light, was built by the British at James Fort in 1871. Jamestown is now a fishing port populated primarily by the Ga, an indigenous people of coastal Ghana. It is also a tourist destination for those wishing to see the remnants of Accra's colonial past. The original lighthouse was replaced in the 1930s by the current Accra Light, which is 93 ft (28 m) tall with a visibility of 16 nautical miles (30 km).

James Town, beach view

Kids from James Town

More Kids from James Town

Jamesfort Light

Mugged for Candy

Jolof Rice with Chicken

I like the bubble dresses.

Bootcamp in the House

2011-01-26T03:48:00.001-08:00

BOOTCAMP!!!! It’s all I have to say, three house mates including my roommate participated in my first bootcamp session in the garden, they loved it! They came back for more on Saturday and more showed up even from a different hosting house. I was impressed they all worked very hard and seemed to sort of enjoy it!

Football Placement and Bootcamp

2011-01-26T03:45:00.000-08:00

Since my placement right now does not start until 3pm, I took the liberty of strolling around in my new hood. It’s weird to have everybody look at you, my white skin glows during the day, so I guess I would attract some attention. So far the people in the hood seem very friendly. I went to the local internet café, had lunch around the corner and of course got a fanchoco which is frozen chocolate milk. The rave reviews met my expectations, it’s very yummy. Some of you are wondering what the hell I’m eating, well I’m eating everything that is offered to me but in very little doses. This is a time where I’m going to take advantage of trying everything new to me.

Okay so my placement, this is what this blog is about after all. I thought I was just going to be observing on the first day but they already had me talk to the players about their game strategy and I apparently made sense when I communicated this to them because they accomplished what I had suggested. So that was pretty cool. On Monday Eric the coach, will assign specific duties to everyone so I’ll have a better idea on what I’ll be focusing on with the players. I’m working with the senior team (ages are 18-21), they are amazing football players, which made it very intimidating at first, but my job is to make sure they stick to the strategy and work hard during the training. The players are all very friendly and welcoming.

Orientation (January 19-20)

2011-01-26T03:38:00.000-08:00

I arrived in Ghana around 3pm local time on Tuesday, Jan. 19th, the heat welcomed me as I welcomed it back! I was taken to my new home for the next two months in the north part of Accra. My roommate is from Norway and her name is Rikke. There are 4 more volunteers staying at the house. Everyone is super friendly and very nice. The hosting family is very accommodating and nice as well. On that night, I went to the local pub with my housemates and then off to the Projects Abroad quiz night and met most of the other volunteers that are working in Accra.

The next day Daniel from Projects Abroad gave me my orientation by showing me how to get to my placement, as well as informing me of all safety precautions and tips for living in Ghana. He also took me and another volunteer that just arrived from the UK for lunch where had a traditional meal. I’ll talk more about the food on another blog posting. The main attraction of the day was riding on one of Ghana’s cheapest methods of public transportation which is on the Tro Tro. Let me tell you it’s a ride worth taking! It’s this mini van/bus that seats approx..12 or more (who ever can shove themselves in), has the driver and conductor who is basically a guy yelling the destination and collects your money. You do have to pray before going on one of those things since all the vans are really old and the drivers there live dangerously. Watching the colourfulness and the orderly chaos on the streets from the window was very entertaining.

Airport Adventure

2011-01-25T05:14:00.000-08:00

The 10 hour flight was pretty smooth except for the part where the captain all of a sudden told the whole flight crew to immediately take their seats while the plane was going through some turbulence. It was scary on one hand but I knew everything was going to be okay. There was no way this plane was going down, at least not before I made it to Ghana. And here I am blogging about it.

Bahamas

2011-01-25T05:11:00.000-08:00

What happened in the Bahamas will remain there.

I did not get a chance to go in the water, but I still had a blast chillin’ under the cold sun and drinking bahama mamas.

Re-Set / Vacation Trip

2011-01-03T17:46:00.000-08:00

Okay so I lied, I haven't kept up with writing on a regular basis. But at least here is another entry. I packed up my studio last week, which was the hardest thing I had to let go out of all the things I parted with. It was the last big "letting go" moment I had along with when I left my crib last month.

(note: my studio is a temporary let go, however it was still hard to walk away knowing I wouldn't be back for a while.)

my crib, november 29, 2010

I finished getting all my shots, and took my first dose of Dukarol as well as bought my suitcases today. I'm preparing to go to Ghana for two months to do a voluntary placement with Projects Abroad. I'm going to be doing my placement in the Cantonements Football Club. I'll be working with 8-21 year old talented football players. I'm very excited and look forward to the unknown!

I'll be arriving in Accra, the capital city of Ghana two weeks from today! In the mean time this Thursday I'll be taking what I call my re-set/vacation trip to the Bahamas. This is where my journey begins! I'll keep you posted with what happens in the Bahamas.

What happens in the Bahamas, might have to stay there.

The Process to Pre-planning a trip of a lifetime.

2010-11-15T12:15:00.000-08:00

So here we go again....that's it, I'm holding myself accountable to updating this blog. For real.

I'm in the early stages of planning my long awaited, very anticipated trip of a lifetime!

In order to make this happen, I sold my condo, got rid of my furniture (except for a couple of pieces), purged half my belongings, and resigned from my daytime job. This process began mid summer, I'm almost there. It's hard, but at the same time very liberating. I have a couple of weeks until I leave my home and biting the bullet to go live for free for a month and a half with my parents in North York. I know, I know. It's only for a month and a half, and I probably won't be there that much in the first half of December as I still have a few loose ends to tie with work and my studio.

Red Boundaries (New Beginnings),

Red Colour Pencil on Panel, 20"x20", 2006, Nurit Basin

What trip am I talking about? Stay tuned for the next post. Let's just put it this way, tomorrow is my first appointment to the travel clinic for getting my shots that will be catered to a country located somewhere in Africa.

Absent With Out Leave - SQUARE FOOT is in the House

2010-08-23T17:52:00.000-07:00

700 artists, 1200 works of art, $225 each.

Catching up...not with Depeche Mode

2010-05-18T12:07:00.001-07:00

This is no excuse to not update my blog, but I was away in NYC at the Affordable Art Fair with AWOL Gallery. As always New York is always fun without any dull moments. The artwork at the fair was very inspiring. My favorite neighbourhood this time around was DUMBO. Gotta go back there when the galleries are open.

AWOL Gallery, AAF 2010

I'm also very excited to announce that a selection of the "1985" Part 1 - Cassette series will be exhibiting with Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery from London, England in the San Francisco Fine Art Fair running from May 20 - 23, 2010. And then heading over to London.

more info: http://www.sffineartfair.com/index.php

"1985" Part 1 - Cassette Series, Ricky Schroder, mixed media on cassette case, 2010

25th Anniversary today!

2010-05-18T10:32:00.000-07:00

25 year ago today, I figured out what I wanted to do...forever....
which is to draw and listen to music on my sony walkman.

I want to send out a big THANK YOU to everyone who helped me put the "1985" show together last month. With out your help, it wouldn't have been what it was, a fun trip back to 1985!

1985 (part 1) - Installation views

2010-04-27T08:23:00.000-07:00

"The Bedroom", 2010

The Cassette Series, 2010

"1985" Pre-Show Elements

2010-04-13T18:57:00.000-07:00

Once the show is over, I will post the full installation with detailed shots. For those who have not seen it yet, these are some of the things/elements that make up "1985" (Part 1) An Installation of Dreamy Pin-Up Drawings from 1985. And for those who have seen it, this is is what it looked like in the studio.

The Buttons.

The Cassettes....waiting in line to be recorded.

The Vinyl Stickers that go on each Poster Pin-Up Print.

The Drawing tools for the Poster Pin-Up Prints

The Poster Pin-Up Prints, in a box waiting to be taped to the wall.

The painted Cassettes, waiting to be displayed.

Just some other stuff...

1985 (Part 1) - Opens This Week starting Thursday

2010-04-04T08:17:00.000-07:00

Opening Reception is on Friday, April 9 at 7pm.

It should be fun and a heck of a trip back to 1985!

1985 (Artist Statement Part 2/2) An installation of dreamy pin-up drawings from 1985.

2010-03-23T06:57:00.000-07:00

There are two parts to this installation. The first part is based on the physicality of my bedroom from 1985, located in North York in a town house complex, which was and still is a haven for the ultimate suburban life. The posters in the gallery are duplicate prints of my original drawings printed on poster paper. The original desk and the ghetto blaster I used to listen and record from are also included in the installation. The soundtrack in the gallery is played from the mixed tapes I recorded from the radio and TV in 1985 and respectively from 1984. These are the cheesy retro 80’s songs I listened to while I drew, it was the most comforting thing for me at the time.

(image: Cassette Series (Tears for Fears no.1), Mixed Media on Cassette Case, 2010)

The second part involves my current art making practice mixed with the 1985 drawings traced directly on the cassette case. It’s an installation with a grid of cassette cases hung on the wall. Each one is individually drawn and painted on the inside of the back door of the case. And each case is accompanied with a mixed tape I made from my collection in 1985.

(image: Cassette Series (Ricky Schroder no.1), Mixed Media on Cassette Case, 2010)

This exhibition is a celebration of knowing what I wanted to do with my life 25 years ago. I knew after the 3rd or 4th drawing in May of 1985 that this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Draw and listen to music. Life didn’t quite turn out that way, but it’s pretty close since I still do it in my adulthood along with other responsibilities and events that occur daily.

(image: Cassette Series (Prince no.1), Mixed Media on Cassette Case, 2010)

This show is dedicated to Sylvia Horowitz who shared that experience with me in 1985.

1985 (Artist Statement Part 1/2) An installation of dreamy pin-up drawings from 1985.

2010-03-23T06:47:00.000-07:00

On May 18th, 1985, after celebrating my 11th birthday, I sat down at my desk that had the map of the world on it and started to draw. I drew the pin-ups that covered my bedroom walls with Duran Duran, Wham!, Ricky Schroder, John Stamos, and basically whoever graced the pages of Bop, 16, Teen Beat, Super Teen and Tiger Beat magazines. In this installation I’ve chosen to display the first 61 drawings that spanned from May to December of 1985. I chose them because they represent the pure innocence of not following any type of instruction other then what I saw on the page of the magazine. I can’t draw like that anymore and that is what is so special about them. They look very simple, even bad, but in a good way because they are so free from any type of limitations and rules. They’re like kids who don’t worry about everyday things like adults do.

(image: Detail of Drawing (Ricky Schroder), 8"x10", Graphite on paper, 1985)

My current artwork is focused on the Volkswagen beetle, which is an alter ego of myself, and the narratives in the work are biographically based. They carry years of personal trials, where the 1985 drawings don’t. Just like my obsessive relationship with using the beetle for 11 years, you can see the same type of relationship I had with these drawings. As I look at them I see what I felt back then which was the same type of comfort and security I currently do with my artwork today.

(image: White Picket Fence No.1 (Detail), mixed media on wood panel, 2010)

"1985" Part 1 - 24 days - A Miracle! (warning long blog)

2010-03-16T06:32:00.000-07:00

Yes I encountered a miracle this morning. My ghetto blaster, well it's actually my older sister's ghetto blaster from 1982ish, started to work again! I remember years ago trying to see if it still worked so I plugged it in and there was no life to it, no life at all. And I remember trying a few more times after that, just to see, but it still didn't work.

In the last few months as I was getting ready to finalize the details for the "1985" show, I kept saying to myself that I really should get that tape deck fixed because it needs to be part of the show. After all it's where I taped all the music from the radio and tv up until probably 1987 when I got my double decker. But my friends had advised me to just get something that looks like it because to try and get that old thing fixed would have cost me a brand new tape deck plus!

As I was getting ready this morning to go out to the east end over to the pawn shops to look for this look alike ghetto blaster, I was looking at the one I have and noticed a switch on the side which I don't remember noticing before. So I thought to myself, you know I should really try and see what this little guy can do because it might be the reason why it's not working. What can I say, I don't give up easily.

So, I switched the little switch on the side, and then I plugged it in. When I plugged it in, I couldn't believe it, I heard a "heart beat", that's what I call it an electronic heart beat! Then I pressed on the rewind button which worked! Then I pulled an old Eurythmics cassette and what do you know, a switch here and a switch there, and boom, the music started to play!
(The lead off song after this blog should be "Let the Music Play" by Shannon.)

1985 Break - Artist Project March 4 - 8

2010-03-04T08:00:00.001-08:00

I took a minor break from the "1985" project to focus on the new vw beetle work for the Artist Project.

I'm exhibiting in the AWOL Collective booth, # 210.

If you get a chance please come by, here is a link with all the info:

http://www.theartistprojecttoronto.com/dates_and_times.php

"1985" Part 1 - 34 days to go - Who is your favourite Duran Duran?

2010-03-04T07:56:00.000-08:00

"1985" Part 1 - 45 days to go - Desperately Seeking Susan

2010-02-22T20:36:00.000-08:00

"1985" Part 1 - 53 days to go - the mixed tape - roll me back in

2010-02-15T08:38:00.001-08:00

This hurts:(

"1985" Part 1 - 53 days to go - the mixed tape

2010-02-15T08:23:00.001-08:00

Another important element from 1985 are my mixed tapes. These were taped off the radio mostly CFTR (commercial free Sundays) and Much Music. Yes Much Music, I would place the tape recorder in front of the TV and tell my little sister to not breathe while I was recording.

I'm having a blast hitting the rewind button, stop button, play button, stop button, forward button, stop button, play button, stop button, rewind button, stop button, play button and

finally hitting on the part of what I want to hear! What a relief.

"1985" Part 1 - 58 days to go

2010-02-10T09:13:00.000-08:00

This 1985 project has been formulating in my head for a good 6 years with a suggestion sparked from a very good friend and art colleague, Dale Thompson. After showing him my drawings from when I was 11 years old back from 1985, he said I had to do something with them. But I just couldn't find the right time to make it happen, until a year and half ago. I started to plot what I wanted to do. And I had to do it this year, since 2010 would mark the 25th anniversary of their existence.

After many consultations with close art colleagues and friends I'm happy to say that this project is finally going to be installed this coming April. Here is a bit from the 60 drawings that will plaster the gallery walls. This is the drawing that made it all happen and made me want to be an artist for the rest of my life.