CONSTRUCTED RECOLLECTION – CRAYOLA

Crayola
© 2022 Leslie Hossack

CONSTRUCTED RECOLLECTION is a series of images inspired by childhood memories of colour. For anyone growing up in the 1950s, what could possibly say colour more than Crayola?

“Purple had the starring role in my very first memory of a colour. It was 1953. Toward the end of the school year, our kindergarten teacher often spoke to us about Queen Elizabeth’s upcoming coronation. One day Miss Balson gave each of us an illustration of a crown; it looked like a page out of a colouring book. She then showed us a coloured photo of the crown. We were each given a box of six crayons and instructed to colour our crown. I diligently studied the coloured photograph. I liked the purple velvet fabric in the centre and determined that I would start with that. I dutifully dumped my crayons onto the tabletop but, to my dismay, there was no purple crayon. I was outraged that I had been given a task but not the necessary tools to complete the job. In the end, I coloured the purple cap with the red crayon. A week or so later, we were given a fresh copy of the same crown and told to colour it. I remember being annoyed that we were being asked to do the same thing over again. As before, the boxes of crayons had only six colours: green, yellow, brown, red, blue and black. No purple. I attacked the purple velvet cap first, this time with the blue crayon. (It would be a long while before I realized that I could have used the red and blue crayons to make purple.) Only in Grade One did I receive a box of eight crayons, the additions being orange and purple. This box of eight was the inspiration for Crayola.”

PRINTS
Chromogenic print mounted on aluminum composite panel
30 x 24 in.

CONSTRUCTED RECOLLECTION: An Abstract Autobiography – Childhood Colour Coded.

Selected images from Constructed Recollection featured in online exhibition at:
StudioSixtySix.ca Spring/Summer 2023.
TheCommotion.ca 21 January – 25 February 2023.

To view more work by Leslie Hossack, please visit lesliehossack.ca

ABOUT Leslie Hossack

CONSTRUCTED RECOLLECTION – CRINOLINE

Crinoline
© 2022 Leslie Hossack

“This image was inspired by my first party dress. In the 1950s, children’s birthday parties were very exciting, but quite low key compared to today. Four or five neighbourhood friends would be invited. There were balloons, and games such as musical chairs and pin the tail on the donkey. The food consisted of sandwiches cut in the shape of triangles with the crusts removed, celery sticks and carrot sticks, birthday cake and ice cream. Everyone wore their very best clothes. For me, that meant shiny black patent shoes and bright white ankle socks. But most of all, it meant I got to wear my party dress. It was pink, with a full skirt, puff sleeves and a Peter Pan collar. I was only six years old, but I clearly remember the feel of the soft furry black velvet ribbon that tied around the waist and the prickly scratchy net crinoline that was attached underneath.”

PRINTS
Chromogenic print mounted on aluminum composite panel.
36 x 24 in.

CONSTRUCTED RECOLLECTION: An Abstract Autobiography – Childhood Colour Coded.

Selected images from Constructed Recollection featured in online exhibition at:
StudioSixtySix.ca Spring/Summer 2023.
TheCommotion.ca 21 January – 25 February 2023.

To view more work by Leslie Hossack, please visit lesliehossack.ca

ABOUT Leslie Hossack

CONSTRUCTED RECOLLECTION – HOMOGENIZED

Homogenized
© 2022 Leslie Hossack

“Is white a colour? For small children learning the names of colours in their surroundings, the answer is yes. One of my first memories involving colour is of a bottle of milk sitting on the kitchen table one hot summer evening. The small room is brightly light by the sun streaming in the kitchen door that is open to the back yard. Although my memory of the scene is vivid, I only recall the colour white, as the brilliant sunlight bounced off my father’s shirt sleeves and wrapped itself around the milk bottle. Each morning when the milkman made his deliveries, we could hear the glass bottles rattling in his metal carrier. These quart bottles were a beautiful shape that tapered to the top; a circular cardboard cap sealed the bottles and announced the name of the dairy. (In the winter, if the milk was left in the milk box too long, it would freeze and a solid column of milk would protrude from the top of the bottle, topped by the displaced cardboard cap.) In the 1950s, we drank homogenized milk; memories of its rich creamy colour inspired this image.”

PRINTS
Chromogenic print mounted on aluminum composite panel.
36 x 24 in.

CONSTRUCTED RECOLLECTION: An Abstract Autobiography – Childhood Colour Coded.

Selected images from Constructed Recollection featured in online exhibition at:
StudioSixtySix.ca Spring/Summer 2023.
TheCommotion.ca 21 January – 25 February 2023.

To view more work by Leslie Hossack, please visit lesliehossack.ca

ABOUT Leslie Hossack

CONSTRUCTED RECOLLECTION – CATALOGUE

Catalogue
© 2022 Leslie Hossack

“One of my core recollections involves lying on the living room rug, night after night, pouring over the latest mail order catalogues. From them I learned about the link between colour and language. As a young girl growing up in the 1950s, I was thrilled to discover that twin sweater sets could be ordered in cherry red or peacock blue. Peacock blue – such an exotic name, such an electric colour! I informed my mother that I would simply die if I could not have a peacock blue sweater. I still clearly remember the page in the catalogue that featured the exquisite colours of cherry red and peacock blue. This was the inspiration for the image shown above, Catalogue.”

PRINTS
Chromogenic print mounted on aluminum composite panel.
36 x 24 in.

CONSTRUCTED RECOLLECTION: An Abstract Autobiography – Childhood Colour Coded.

Selected images from Constructed Recollection featured in online exhibition at:
StudioSixtySix.ca Spring/Summer 2023.
TheCommotion.ca 21 January – 25 February 2023.

To view more work by Leslie Hossack, please visit lesliehossack.ca

ABOUT Leslie Hossack

CONSTRUCTED RECOLLECTION – FLANNEL SUITS

Flannel Suits
© 2022 Leslie Hossack

“Not all of my memories of the 1950s are bursting with colour. The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit by Sloan Wilson was a popular novel in 1955 and was made into a film starring Gregory Peck a year later. I was not aware of the book or the movie at the time, but I do recall my father’s grey flannel suits. Interestingly, my mother, my grandmother and I had grey flannel suits too. A photo taken in 1954 shows the four of us dressed accordingly. My father’s suit jacket is visible; it is the two-button style that Gregory Peck would later make famous. My mother and my grandmother are each wearing a lady’s version of the suit. Grandma’s is a slightly darker shade of grey, but both women’s suits have straight skirts beneath fitted jackets that feature notched lapels and padded shoulders. I do not recall having a grey flannel suit when I was a little girl, but there I am in the picture wearing one. The jacket has patch pockets and is buttoned right up to my neck; the full skirt with inverted box pleats stops a couple of inches above my knees. Flannel Suits was inspired by these early childhood memories.”

PRINTS
Chromogenic print mounted on aluminum composite panel.
36 x 24 in.

CONSTRUCTED RECOLLECTION: An Abstract Autobiography – Childhood Colour Coded.

Selected images from Constructed Recollection featured in online exhibition at:
StudioSixtySix.ca Spring/Summer 2023.
TheCommotion.ca 21 January – 25 February 2023.

To view more work by Leslie Hossack, please visit lesliehossack.ca

ABOUT Leslie Hossack

CONSTRUCTED RECOLLECTION – THE WEDDING

The Wedding
© 2022 Leslie Hossack

“When I was six years old, my aunt announced her engagement. The wedding was to take place a week after my seventh birthday, and I was to be the flower girl. I was thrilled. This was my first close encounter with love & marriage. During all the excitement of the months of planning, I felt like I was living in a fairy tale. One of the highlights was the fact that I was to wear a floor length dress just like my mother who was the matron of honour and the two bridesmaids. I loved my flower girl dress, although I was a little disappointed with the colour. It was a pale orange, just like the bridesmaids’ dresses. Matters were only made worse when I was told that the colour was not orange but shrimp! Perhaps that colour was fashionable in the 1950s, but I was not amused. To this day, I clearly remember that shade of orange, and I still do not like it. We are shaped by the colours that surrounded us in our formative years, both positively and negatively. The colour shrimp is as much a part of me as my physical DNA.”

PRINTS
Chromogenic print mounted on aluminum composite panel
30 x 24 in.

CONSTRUCTED RECOLLECTION: An Abstract Autobiography – Childhood Colour Coded.

Selected images from Constructed Recollection featured in online exhibition at:
StudioSixtySix.ca Spring/Summer 2023.
TheCommotion.ca 21 January – 25 February 2023

To view more work by Leslie Hossack, please visit lesliehossack.ca

ABOUT Leslie Hossack

CONSTRUCTED RECOLLECTION – KITCHEN

Kitchen
© 2022 Leslie Hossack

“Our small rented mid century bungalow did not have a dining room; perhaps that’s why the kitchen features in several of my early colour memories. I vividly recall a set of striped glasses; the smaller ones were used for juice and the larger ones for milk. I loved them even though the stripes were earthy shades of yellow, orange, green and red, not the clear saturated colours often associated with early childhood. In the 1950s, many gas stations gave away dishes and glasses to attract and retain customers. Once the attendant had filled up the car (there was no self-service) and the bill had been paid in cash (there were no credit cards), a “free” plate or glass was handed to the motorist. I do not know if the glasses that inspired this image were from a gas station or not. However, I do remember my mother telling my father to get another glass or plate the next time he took the car to be filled up.”

PRINTS
Chromogenic print mounted on aluminum composite panel
30 x 24 in.

CONSTRUCTED RECOLLECTION: An Abstract Autobiography – Childhood Colour Coded.

Selected images from Constructed Recollection featured in online exhibition at:
StudioSixtySix.ca Spring/Summer 2023.
TheCommotion.ca 21 January – 25 February 2023

To view more work by Leslie Hossack, please visit lesliehossack.ca

ABOUT Leslie Hossack

CONSTRUCTED RECOLLECTION – PONTIAC

CONSTRUCTED RECOLLECTION is a series of images inspired by colour memories and informed by current research.

“In the early 1950s my parents bought their first brand new car, a Pontiac. I vividly remember the soft green colour of the shiny paint and the flashing highlights of the polished chrome trim. I particularly recall the front grill, which I now know was called the waterfall grill. It likely caught my attention as it was at eye level and was surmounted with a striking chrome hood ornament. Researching vintage Pontiac paint colour charts, I found that the green I so clearly remember was called Placid Green. To my very young eyes, that colour was soothing, sumptuous and sophisticated. Like other colours I encountered in my formative years, it remains a part of me all these decades later.”

PRINTS
Chromogenic print mounted on aluminum composite panel
30 x 24 in.

CONSTRUCTED RECOLLECTION: An Abstract Autobiography – Childhood Colour Coded.

Selected images from Constructed Recollection featured in online exhibition at:
StudioSixtySix.ca Spring/Summer 2023.
TheCommotion.ca 21 January – 25 February 2023

To view more work by Leslie Hossack, please visit lesliehossack.ca

ABOUT Leslie Hossack

CONSTRUCTED RECOLLECTION – JELL-O

This body of work, CONSTRUCTED RECOLLECTION, is an abstract autobiography inspired by childhood memories of colour. It explores the premise that we are all shaped by the colours that surrounded us in our formative years.

“Jell-o was inspired by early memories of my favourite everyday dessert. In the 1950s, it was available in six flavours: cherry, strawberry, raspberry, lemon, orange and lime. No matter the flavour, the fruity taste was refreshing. And the colour! In a glass bowl, the translucent look of the saturated colour of jell-o was magical, and the smooth texture was so satisfying. That is unless it was ruined by the addition of sliced bananas or a tin full of drained Fruit Cocktail. The only thing worse was a “jell-o salad” containing slices of celery, cucumber and stuffed olives. As a child, the sole welcome addition to this wobbly delight of a dessert was a dollop of whipped cream on top.”

PRINTS
Chromogenic print mounted on aluminum composite panel
30 x 24 in.

CONSTRUCTED RECOLLECTION: An Abstract Autobiography – Childhood Colour Coded.

Selected images from Constructed Recollection featured in online exhibition at:
StudioSixtySix.ca Spring/Summer 2023.
TheCommotion.ca 21 January – 25 February 2023

To view more work by Leslie Hossack, please visit lesliehossack.ca

ABOUT Leslie Hossack

CONSTRUCTED RECOLLECTION – FATHER’S FEDORAS

“The first picture I have of me with my father is a small black and white snapshot; on the back is written “8 months old.” In this outdoor photo, my father is wearing a fedora. Obviously, I do not remember that day, but I do have many early memories of my father’s hats. I was 50 years old when my father died and throughout that the half century, he wore fedoras. In the 1950s, they were typically made of fur-felt and came in various shades of grey, brown and black. The soft brim was worn up in the back and down in the front, while the depth of the brim, the height of the indented pinched-front crown, and the width of the grosgrain ribbon varied over time. Movie stars such as Cary Grant and Frank Sinatra made fedoras the icon they remain to this day, but it was my father’s hats that inspired this image.”

PRINTS
Chromogenic print mounted on aluminum composite panel.
30 x 24 in.

CONSTRUCTED RECOLLECTION: An Abstract Autobiography – Childhood Colour Coded.

Selected images from Constructed Recollection featured in online exhibition at:
StudioSixtySix.ca Spring/Summer 2023.
TheCommotion.ca 21 January – 25 February 2023.

To view more work by Leslie Hossack, please visit lesliehossack.ca

ABOUT Leslie Hossack