Meet the Makers is a series of interviews to help you get to know the awesome folks who are building our makerspace. Whitehorse’s Public Zine Librarian, Amelia Merhar, is a vibrant member of the YuKonstruct Core Team. Find out more about her art and what drew her to YuKonstruct.
Amelia, why did you join YuKonstruct?
I joined YuKonstruct because I am an interdisicplinary kind of person. I love to learn new mediums, skills and techniques to make projects. A community space with access to cool, fancy tools will be a welcome resource and inspiration for my art.
What do you like to make?
I like to make interactive art installations. Each one I make is very different, and my favourite part is learning the new skill, whether it be a bit of programming, sound/audio design, or working with new materials. Check out www.ameliamerhar.com for examples of my work.
What advice do you have for other makers in the Yukon?
Come out of the woodwork and pop by the space! Donate some spare tools and materials you have laying around, and help build YuKonstruct!
What’s the funniest thing that’s happened to you while making something?
Well, when I was building MOTORBOAT, which was beer-filled carboys converted into 25L breasts that played a song from the perspective of breasts, I have to say, it was the art project my (all male) roommates were really interested in!
What are you working on now?
This summer I am working on my Zine Tree Project. I am building a birch tree filled with hundreds of zines on everything from pirate history to homebrewing, political theory to bike poetry. The tree will serve as a distribution and creation centre for zines, and the goal of the project is to build northern zine culture, and promote independant publishing and alternative media. I will be learning how to make birds in the tree respond to tweets about zines in real-time. July is International Zine Month, and I am doing an artist talk and zine workshop at Arts Underground July 2nd at 6 pm to kick off the project. July 5th at the Edge Gallery, Northern Zine, the Zine Tree project community exhibit will open from 5-8 pm in conjunction with Whitehorse Nuit Blanche!
