AJ Fosik, a self-described "sawdust provocateur," crafts wooden sculptures that appear as totem-like beasts, extending from the wall with a spiritual vibrancy. The artist counts taxidermy, rituals from varying cultures, and folk art as influences in these pieces. The nature of how the pieces stand or are mounted to walls, in particular, references taxidermic practices. His work adorned the cover of Hi-Fructose Vol. 18.
Calgary-born artist Maskull Lasserre creates improbable sculptures that defy their materials and challenge the viewer’s expectations. His "Schrodinger's Wood," made from Ash tree trunk, a chain hoist and gantry, appears as a rope tethering one piece to another, as rendered by the artist. And even when the truth of its material is revealed, the piece still offers tension in its “breaking.”