Kay Burns is a multidisciplinary

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, th ...

based in Fogo Island,

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. Burns' work includes: performance art, locative media,

audio Audio most commonly refers to sound, as it is transmitted in signal form. It may also refer to: Sound *Audio signal, an electrical representation of sound *Audio frequency, a frequency in the audio spectrum *Digital audio, representation of sound ...

, video, photography, sculpture, and installation. Her practice engages in site-specific responses to locations through a reinterpretation of local mythologies,

histories Histories or, in Latin, Historiae may refer to: * the plural of history * ''Histories'' (Herodotus), by Herodotus * ''The Histories'', by Timaeus * ''The Histories'' (Polybius), by Polybius * ''Histories'' by Gaius Sallustius Crispus (Sallust), ...

, and the eccentricities of people who inhabit those places. Her work melds

fact A fact is a datum about one or more aspects of a circumstance, which, if accepted as true and proven true, allows a logical conclusion to be reached on a true–false evaluation. Standard reference works are often used to check facts. Scient ...

and

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...

through alternative constructions of place and event, indirectly commenting on the authority associated with the dissemination of information. A significant part of Burns’ practice has been the reinstatement of the defunct Flat Earth Society of Canada through her performance persona, Iris Taylor, entailing presentations of an evolving 'recruitment lecture' and the ongoing development of flat earth artifacts. Her performance work also includes guided ‘historical’ walks as Iris Taylor, and an extended walking practice through her involvement as a founding member of the Ministry of Walking collective. Her work has been presented internationally in Reykjavik, Amsterdam, Belfast, New York City, and Los Angeles; and across Canada from Dawson City to St. John's. Burns previously held the post of curator at the Muttart Public Art Gallery in

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

, and taught in the University of Calgary

Fine Arts In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...

Department and the Alberta College of Art and Design

Media Art New media art includes artworks designed and produced by means of electronic media technologies, comprising virtual art, computer graphics, computer animation, digital art, interactive art, sound art, Internet art, video games, robotics, 3D prin ...

Department prior to her move to Newfoundland. Burns continues to undertake

freelance writing ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

and curatorial projects, as well as mentorship and visiting teaching roles for various organizations and institutions.

External links

Iris Taylor Official Site
Canadian multimedia artists Canadian installation artists Canadian women artists Artists from Alberta Artists from Newfoundland and Labrador Living people Year of birth missing (living people) {{Canada-artist-stub