Walks in nature have been an integral part of Brigitte Sampogna’s life. On a recent walk down a familiar trail, she stopped at a spot where the rays of the sun complimented the flowers.
Adjusting her camera’s sensitivity to light, she set the angle and clicked on shoot. A smile of satisfaction crept on her face as she looked at the photo.
“Art is an emotionally laborious process,” she said. An artist from Whitby, Ontario, Sampogna’s unique perspective on art is captured in everything that she creates.
“I’m an interdisciplinary artist that lives in the suburbs,” she chuckled, when asked to describe herself.
As a child, Sampogna said she was shy and curious. “I would like to know how things worked with my own hands and figure out the function,” she said.
“I remember as a kid, my parents telling me to not be afraid to ask questions. And they probably regret that because I ask everyone too many questions all the time,” she added.
Nature has always appealed to Sampogna. “I’d find rocks or flowers with cool designs on it. And I want to keep it because I was fascinated by it.”
The fact that every rock was different, and filled with unique details, captivated her interest.
“All rocks are different,” she said, explaining how natural processes like erosion can shape the finished product.
Sampogna owes her inclination towards art to her sister, Michelle Sampogna. “Being a little sister and seeing someone you love interested in art, I began to develop an interest in art myself,” she said.
Now armed with a bachelor of fine arts degree in integrated media from the Ontario College of Art and Design University, she produces film and video along with her colleague and best friend, Justin Mezzapelli.
Sampogna and Mezzapelli go back a long way. “We went to elementary school together, but we weren’t really good friends until grade six. We’ve been friends for more than 13 years now.”
“She’s someone I respect a lot,” said Mezzapelli. “We sit in the car and we just mutually want the same smoothie or coffee.”
For an OCAD assignment, Sampogna and Mezzapelli made a short film titled “Elegy.”
“It was for a video film class, and we were just thinking about the concept of obsession. So, we wrote the script, and on set it was just the two of us doing sound, video, set design and everything,” said Sampogna.
The theme of Elegy was infatuation. “We had this idea of a violin student who goes to her teacher’s house for lessons, and his wife is very interesting to her. She wants to know more about her,” said Mezzapelli.
What started as a school assignment went on to be selected at the Durham Region International Film Festival (DRIFF) in 2020. It was screened at the Robert McLaughlin Gallery.
Sampogna recently had her art at display at Nowhere. No, where? Now here, an event at the McLaughlin Gallery in March this year.
The artwork consists of a laundry line with garments drying on it. As per Sampogna, laundry is relentless, and consequently, it is an apt metaphor for the ongoing work of getting to know one’s self.
Hannah Keating, associate curator at the McLaughlin Gallery, was the curator of the event. “I get really excited by artists who can look at materials and create worlds,” said Keating.
“It felt like a backyard in the suburbs. The grass on the ground and the way that we lit the show had an atmosphere about it that I feel was successful. It was almost cinematic, like it had a theatrical quality to me as well,” said Keating.
Heather Riley, project coordinator for digital collections, McLaughlin Gallery, met Sampogna at Loose Parts, Justin Mezzapelli’s event at the gallery.
Riley was very fond of Sampogna’s work. “It has a poetic element to it of meditating on these discarded, ephemeral pieces and then elevating them in an artistic way,” said Riley.
Currently, Sampogna has no exhibitions lined up. She’s using this free time to plan her art and return to nature, where she continues to draw inspiration.
“I am focusing on my individual practice,” said Sampogna.