World Water Day (WWD) is an initiative of the United Nations to bring awareness to the importance of water resources and their sustainable management.
This year’s exhibition represents two different perspectives on WWD. Weekes’ focus is less about environmental concerns and more about social ones -- the use of water as a historic means of transportation as it relates particularly to the Black experience.
Lemay on the other hand, presents a series of large-scale photographs that depict the power and beauty of our Canadian waters and its inhabitants. Through his camera, Lemay creates stunning documents of the great Canadian outdoors and invites the viewer on this passionate journey with him.
Weekes’ Beachcomber presents a perspective on Black Canadian history by featuring images of the Bay of Fundy’s New River Beach. As part of the North Atlantic, the waters of the Bay of Fundy, are those same waters that touch the shores of England and Africa providing the currents upon which 18th century sailing vessels plied their trade.
On the gallery floor, blocks of concrete and epoxy resin encapsulate images of driftwood and stone. For Weekes, the stones collected on the beach represent the ballast used to keep ships afloat, while the driftwood stands in for the slave ships themselves.
Gary Weekes is a Fredericton-based photographer and filmmaker who has the distinction of being the first Black to have a solo exhibit at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery.
In addition, he has shown his work at the Fredericton Regional Public Library, the Charlotte Street Art Centre, Gallery on Queen, and the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame. In 2023 he was the recipient of CBC’s Black Changemaker Award.
Photographer Jean-Christophe Lemay’s exhibition Aqua, directs his lens on Canada’s aquatic environments and the animals that inhabit them. His images are a means to discover the bounty that exists in this country but also to highlight the precariousness of these ecosystems.
As a result of habitat degradation, pollution, over-hunting and over-fishing, the world is losing approximately 100 - 10,000 species a year. In Canada alone, it is currently estimated that more than 800 species are on the brink of extinction with over 4,000 more at risk.
2023 was a big year for Jean-Christophe Lemay when he was awarded Canadian Wildlife Photographer of the Year by the Canadian Geographic magazine, Silver and Bronze at the Paris Photography Awards, third prize in the Landscape category of the Canadian Wildlife Federation’s annual photo competition and invited to exhibit and present at the Aves Nature Photo Festival in Belgium.
In 2021 he was awarded first place by both Nature Sauvage and Canadian Geographic magazines. Jean-Christophe Lemay’s photographs of the expedition aboard the research vessel Coriolis II were featured in the exhibit Fathom the Depths of the St. Lawrence Estuary: Art & Science/ À des brasses de profondeur dans l’estuaire du Saint-Laurent: Art et Science at the UNB Art Centre in 2023.
The UNB Art Centre celebrates its 12th annual World Water Day exhibit with REFLECTIONS, an exhibit of work from 28 artists in the community. Since 2011, the UNB Art Centre has recognized World Water Day with a special exhibit or event that highlights the challenges that face society and the environment.
World Water Day is an initiative of the United Nations to bring awareness to the importance of water resources and their sustainable management. Since its inception in 1993, the project has gathered momentum and participants from all over the world, each inspired to educate and activate their communities through a variety of projects.
While only 28 artists were selected to showcase their work in REFLECTIONS, 78 artists answered the call for submissions, responding to the theme by reflecting on their own relationship with water and the waterways of New Brunswick. For some, the artwork was based on an intimate relationship with a particular pond or stream, others took a more global perspective and looked at how water is used, still others examined the various states of water and its potential. This exhibit features sculpture, video, installation, photography, textiles, and painting as a means to plumb the depths of our relationship with water.
For more information
Marie E. Maltais, Director
506 453-4623
artcntr@unb.ca
