Packed up and ready to go

Artwork en route to Edmonton! I'll be following it soon. 

Origin Stories *revisited*

On January fourth I'm flying to Edmonton to install a solo show that has been lying dormant since 2012. When I originally made this work I had big dreams to get it in a gallery right away. However, I was still in the 'pre-emerging' phase of my career. I have a collection of rejection letters from several galleries for 'Origin Stories'. I packed the work away and decided to move on. Five years later (two years after I sent the last proposal for this show) I received an invitation to show the work! 

The last month has been filled with thrift store shopping sprees, creative problem solving with mylar displays, finding friends to cut glass and plexi, photocopying old photographs and scrambling for last minute shipping options. Twenty-three days left!

A double sided painting! There are two sides to every story.

Belfast Field Notes

This place will bring you to your knees... whether in prayer or defeat, I suppose it depends where you go first. The history of sectarian violence is like a punch to the gut. It winds you, and when you get back up to steady yourself another fist comes for your face. However, what was lacking in the landscape with pointed fences and corrugated separation barriers (spaciousness and compassion) was found in the people that I met. Those who fed and housed me, strangers who walked me to my destinations, and the women I chatted with in my workshop and on the bus. 

Thank you Belfast. Until we meet again.

                                   

Post show glow

Thanks to everyone who took the time to see my show last month. 

For more images of the gallery, check out my website.

Promised Land at Yactac

Tomorrow evening, my show 'Promised Land' opens at the Yactac Gallery. I am so pleased to feature the work I made while in Israel/Palestine last year, as well as a very recent piece from my trip to Northern Ireland!

'Promised Land' is a body of work that was inspired by a collection of film canisters filled with sand and water from the Holy Land- inherited when my Great Grandmother passed away. I went on a pilgrimage to return the relics to their homeland last year. While researching dislocation and homecoming my curiosity was piqued on the negative effects of Nationalism and its contribution to division and disenfranchisement. The next step for my research took me to Northern Ireland, another land with a history of walls. In Northern Ireland flags seem to point to territorial aggression. I explore these regions looking for the scars that have healed.

If you don't make it to the gallery, maybe you will see one of these on the street... it's just so hard to plan a show within four walls.

Wake

 Wake, video stills

Yesterday I spent time in an old English cemetery in a small town west of London. I attended a Lenten prayer event, and was inspired to take my reading outside to enjoy the sun. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, death is an impermanent state. I had the urge to “tuck in” the tombs as if the occupants were sleeping and would soon wake up. Some of the grave stones date back to the 1800’s.

When I shared my idea one woman told me about an eccentric painter from the nearby village of Cookham. Sir Stanley Spencer had made several paintings around the theme of resurrection. His most known painting depicted a local church cemetery with people emerging from their graves as if they just woke up. His work was exhibited in the Tate a few years ago. 

Exhibitions!

It seems that my obsessive season of submitting to shows has finally paid off.

Fazakas Gallery

SHE-I-LA runs until March 31 so you have two weeks to go see. This is an incredible show with local Vancouver artists. The collaborative nature of this exhibit is reflective of the nurturing and community building that comes naturally for women. I am responsible for co-planning a discussion panel of local DTES involved artists, which will be held on March 25 from 2-4.

Punch Projects

The Punch Gallery was formerly located near Pioneer Square in Seattle. I was in one of the very last exhibitions before they closed the doors. They now exist as a project based collective that seeks to create a visual dialogue between urban and rural communities. This two day show will be in Ellensburg, Washington. If you make it to the opening, please take pictures for me! My artwork will be available as a large print. I am thrilled to be reconnecting to my roots. I'm not from Central Washington but I grew up in a similar town that is two hours northeast of Ellensburg. My first solo show was also held in a barn almost a decade ago. Feels like home!

And for the very distant future, I have a solo show at Britannia Gallery for February 2018!

Eastside Confidential

If you are looking for an immersive and thought provoking entertainment experience, come to Oppenheimer Park for the HomeGround Festival this Thursday ( February 9) and check out Eastside Confidential: Walking Through Shadowland. I had the privilege of collaborating with several artists from the Downtown Eastside. It will be unlike anything you have ever seen! 

The show will run at 5:30, 6:30 and 7:30 and is located in the alley on the west side of the park. 

Painting Nablus

I haven't painted in such a long time. Sharing a studio with painters reminded me what I was missing. Here's a process shot of recent work. In 2010 I painted a series of building facades from the Downtown Eastside, most of which have been demolished or renovated. My traditional palette is Canadian grey. Bright colours are not natural for me. 

I found this building while wandering through the old city of Nablus in Palestine. I read about Jalal Aslan Tile Factory months before and accidently stumbled across it. Jalal Aslan is the last of it's kind. Why am I drawn to paint pictures of endangered buildings?