The UNB Art Centre celebrates its 12th annual World Water Day exhibit with REFLECTIONS, an exhibit of work from 28 artists in the community, opening on March 24 at 5 p.m. 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, and painting.
Water is Life, 2022
Illustration using Procreate; Digital print
50 X 20 in.
We need it to keep our bodies functioning and to grow food. Pictures of dried lakes and riverbeds where drought is present serve as a reminder of how vulnerable we are. In my work, I wanted to convey the preciousness of water. I decided to use Procreate and my IPad as I wanted the lines to be crisp, the colours painted in the under layer, using Apple Pencil was my brush. It is much like painting with gouache on paper. I like the versatility of digital art—it can be any size, printed and displayed on paper, projected onto a wall, or displayed on a computer screen. My work is often shared online and this medium works very well in that regard.
I often use the human hand in my artwork—it is so expressive, and I always have a couple on me for reference! In this piece I wanted the hand to be desperately reaching for what it needs. The single, possibly last drop of water appears as something both hopeful and revered. The hand is parched—so dry. The image is meant to disquiet the viewer. The hand is similar to the Everyman, often used in political art.
The space between the drop of water and the hand give the feeling of anticipation and angst. The balance of power is on the side of water. My piece is this collection is like a square in a quilt, with the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.
Dawn is a multimedia artist best known for her cartoons drawn under the nom de plume “dawnymock.” She was awarded the art award from Bathurst High School in 1984. She is a member of the Association of Canadian Cartoonists and CartoonStock.com. Her work has been included in the Herné Bay Cartoon Fest, 1001 Visages in Val-David, Quebec, in Aislin’s Book of Favorite Covid Cartoons, Vancouver Science World and the Globe and Mail. She has donated many drawings and paintings to local charities and school fundraisers. She lives in Fredericton, New Brunswick.
https://www.cartoonstock.com/cartoonists/dawnmockler
The High Lake Effect and Other Euphemisms for Climate Change, 2019
Video, 14 mins.
In 2019, the Wolostoq River flooded and we experienced historic levels of flooding. That same year, I went to an artist residency on Toronto Island to work on an installation project dealing with the 4 elements (water, earth, fire, and air) and global warming. Hanlan’s Point, the location of the residency, was also experiencing historic flooding. Water was the element visiting me most during my stay at Hanlan’s Point. This installation was inspired by the islanders, human and nonhuman, who are living with “the high lake effect” created by the climate crisis. I spent my time there walking on what was left of the beaches, through the flooded roads, and around sandbags. I collected beach plastics, and lots of footage of ducks, carp, and moving water. What really interests me is the quiet everydayness of flooding: the 24 hour pumps, the school buses driving through giant puddles, and people out walking their dogs. This installation is named after a sign that was put up to keep the public beaches, warning us about the “high lake effect,” another depressing euphemism for climate change.
Sabine LeBel is an Associate Professor in the Culture and Media Studies Department at the University of New Brunswick, Fredericton. Working in the area of queer ecologies, her research is in the areas of waste, affect, and the visual. Her research has been published in Globalizations, NANO: North American Notes Online, and Canadian Women Studies/ les cahiers de la femme, among others. She has also been making short videos on queer themes since 1999, when she participated in the Inside Out Queer Youth Video Project. In 2013, Sabine was commissioned to make a film for Inside Out's 15th Annual Queer Video Mentorship Project. The resulting work, Dispatches from the Future, is another video by the duo which was awarded a Special Jury Citation for “its innovative approach to storytelling that leaves the viewer questioning notions of reality.” Her work has screened in queer and experimental film festivals including the Inside Out Festival (Toronto), Out on Screen (Vancouver), Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (Budapest) and more. In 2017, with Casey Burkholder, she started the Fredericton Feminist Film Collective, dedicated to making, screening and talking about works by and for queers, trans folks and women. Most recently, they created the Omicron Exhaustion Project, an collaborative online art project.
@wearemutantoy
Water Torus, 2018
Mixed Media
78 X 74 in.
Be Like Water, 2019
Mixed Media
60 X 72 in.
As an artist, I am a witness and remain wide open to life. Energy moves through me, through us all, and I constantly hone my skills to stay alert and sensitive to the vibrations that surround me.
Through a sound curiosity, I constantly seek to sharpen and expand my understanding. Slowing the pace, deepening the listening and working from a place of stillness and focused attention, I am drawn to the relation to the other; simple objects and nature.
Water Torus and Be Like Water are works that examine our human relationship to our most precious resource. The fluid and adaptable nature of water becomes a metaphor for our human lives. Staying fluid and strong, passing over and around obstacle, shapeshifting and adapting, it reflects how to remain flexible in both mind and body. We are reliant on fresh and clean sources of water and are called to protect our complex freshwater and ocean ecosystems. We are compelled to address the devastating effects of pollution on our waterways and be firm in a world resolve to undertake clean practices that will protect and preserve this essential element for life on our planet.
I paint who I am. In this information age, I believe that my work as a visual artist, living in a remote environment, in a state of constant and open connection to the physical world, is a valuable contribution to our times of unprecedented distraction, busyness and disconnection.
Vicky Lentz is a mixed-media visual artist from the northwest region of New Brunswick. A recent recipient of the Prix Éloizes 2022, Artist of the Year in the Visual Arts, and awarded the 2022 Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal for her important contribution to the arts in New Brunswick, Vicky has a notable list of achievements in her established career.
Her work continues to be sought after for important exhibitions and collections in Canada and abroad. She is also represented by Gallery 78 in Fredericton. She has presented her work in major solo exhibitions across the province and has been the recipient of creation and research grants with Artsnb and the Canada Council. She has been an active juror at the national and provincial level.
Vicky has served as an arts ambassador and has been a respected voice for the arts on important boards and advisory committees. She has also served as a mentor and curator and is a sought-after speaker.
As a dedicated professional, she continually pushes her artistic expression forward. Her home and studio are located in a secluded maple forest and her daily life unfolds in a direct interaction with the living environment. Her studio inquiries employ a variety of materials and methods to engage with the landscape on a human scale. The processes and materials open up a dialogue with the environment. In our modern world where our environmental concerns become epic, her contemporary work that echoes and documents this life of connection, holds importance. Vicky’s work and achievements establish her as a prominent contemporary artist of New Brunswick.
https://vickylentz.com/
[FROM THE] GROUND UP, 2022
Mixed media, found objects
28.5 X 12 X 7 in.
CARBONOCEAN, 2022
Mixed media, found objects
26.5 X 10 X 5 in.
Water is essential to life. Often in the name of greed and power, human activities in the industrial and agricultural sectors negatively affect this precious resource on an unsustainable and irreversible scale.
My CARBONOCEAN and [FROM THE] GROUND UP works submitted for the REFLECTIONS exhibition honouring World Water Day highlight some of these effects, specifically ocean acidification and herbicide use.
Our oceans are currently absorbing about a quarter of the world's carbon dioxide emissions, mitigating the effect of climate change on our planet. With pollution levels expected to increase in the coming decades, the ocean's capability to assist will decrease, leading to higher acidity levels and threatening marine species and their environment.
Approximately 1.7% of the water on earth is groundwater; from that, 30% is freshwater. This supply is threatened due to runoff from areas treated with pesticides by the agricultural sector, resulting in surface and groundwater contamination.
We should reflect on our personal consumption and be more aware of how the resources we take for granted are affected by external factors.
Kyle is a self-taught visual artist living on the coast of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, formerly named Squa-so-dek.
Through found objects transformed into the unexpected, Kyle critically expresses current ecological and political issues and their interrelation, often referencing local concerns inspired by a landscape of beauty, grit, and change.
Kyle's works are meant to encourage a dialogue about the vital causes outside of our personal realities, as too often, time, energy, and money constraints get in the way of further thought.
https://www.gallery361.ca/
Lakeshore: Spring/Autumn/Winter, 2015-16
Digital print on canvas
(3) 10 X 30 in.
My photographic series titled Lake Shore, is a reflection of the serene and captivating beauty of the natural world. Through this series I capture the convergence of water, land, and sky on the edge of Lake George as it changes with the seasons. This 3-part series explores the connection that all life has to water. Capturing the mirrored images of the surrounding birch trees, stone-lined shores, and the water's surface demonstrates water’s importance to all life.
My intention with this series is to encourage the viewer to pause, reflect and appreciate the intricacy of the natural world, and to remind us of the importance of preserving our precious water resources. As the viewer experiences the panoramic images, they are invited to explore water in the seasons represented in the photographs, from the autumnal blaze of colors reflected on the lake’s surface, to the frozen snow-covered winter wonderland, and the fresh spring awakening with emerging green. Through Lake Shore, I hope to transport the viewer to a place of peace and tranquility, where they can reflect and connect with the beauty of water as our life support.
Karrie Nash photographs with both digital and analogue processes in her home province of New Brunswick. Growing up in Estey’s Bridge surrounded by forest, fields and streams fostered an admiration for nature and that affection is seen throughout her creative body of work. Karrie’s formal education began in 2010 upon entry into the Foundation Visual Arts program at the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design. She then went on to complete their Graphic Design diploma program in 2013, followed by a diploma in Photography 2015. Her time at NBCCD developed a solid knowledge base of design principles, colour theory, and elevated her skillset from hobbyist creator to a professional artist.
She has worked as an art instructor, photographer, and graphic designer and as the Communications/Marketing Manager for Craft NB. She is the sole proprietor of Karried Away Creations specializing in portraiture with an emphasis on families, including beloved animal companions. She is a founding member of the New Brunswick Black Artists Alliance and serves as its Social Media Marketing Manager.
@karriedaway.creations
Prepare, 2021
Collagraph Print; soy-based carbon ink
(6) 24 X 11 in.
Prepare is part of an umbrella of works entitled Forlorn. Record breaking warm Februarys and increasingly rising riverbanks has driven a climate-oriented gaze. This focus on waterways is introrsely intermingled with New Brunswick’s quiet history, as many of the communities which had initially pulled my interest happened to sit directly within afflicted zones of 2019. This flooding is an obvious reflection of New Brunswick’s settlement structure favouring previously inhabited river ways so as to serve expansion, but also an account to the intricacies of a modernized Canada. Prepare examines this complexity through a mobile home upon stilts situated within Maugerville, a farming community increasingly scared by spring freshets which have sent residents preparing both vainly or ingeniously, for inevitable waters. This is not a heed to prepare, but the admission that we already are.
The intaglio ink utilized in these collagraphs was fashioned in cooperation with Carbon Upcycling Technologies, wherein captured carbon is ground into powderized nano cards suitable for new industrial needs.
This work is part of a series of projects, residencies and visitations inquiring upon the lost, wilfully forgotten, and secretive stories within both Anglo and Francophone New Brunswick, the unceded territory of the Mi’kmaqi, and Wolastoqey peoples. Using the mediums of print and installation, these stories and their disconcerting repetition are to be shared with greater audiences across Canada and beyond through galleries and experiential spaces. Forlorn’s scope has been generously funded by ArtsNB, the Canada Council for the Arts, and numerous arts organizations throughout the Atlantic Canada.
Nat Cann is a Canadian printmaker whose projects focus upon the haunting of lands–ideologies and industries keeping afloat Canadian notions of colonial heritage and their subsequent degradations. These notions of commorancy are further expressed through lens based printed matter, material choice, and installations. Nat’s painted matter deals with fictions–places and peoples, inquiries upon the generated world’s in which they inhabit, and his intentions toward said entities encased within painted environments.
Nat Cann has exhibited across Canada, and has gratefully acted as a mentor, instructor, and technical assistant to numerous students and professionals unversed in printmaking. Nat has been granted numerous residencies and his recent print projects have been intertwined with a variety of publications, exhibitions, and research grants. His work has been consistently supported by ArtsNB’s funding programs and the Canada Council for the Arts. Nat obtained his BFA from Mount Allison University (2012) and now resides in Moncton, New Brunswick, an Acadian colonial city which sits on the unceded territory of the Wolastoqiyik and Mi’kmaq Peoples.
Blinded By the Light Shining on the Sea, 2021
Oil on birch panel
42 X 54 in.
Night Swimmers, Red Sea, 2021
Oil on birch panel
41 X 50 in.
In my paintings I am reflecting on the relationship between humans and our fragile environment, a world threatened by systematic disintegration and devastation. My most recent paintings explore and speak to climate and environmental change, particularly on the oceans and shorelines: the sea level is rising, waters are warming, storms are intensifying, lives and communities are at risk. Conjured partly from memory, partly from my own photos, the people in my paintings uneasily inhabit places that I have explored in the past and present, with a focus on their relationships to bodies of water. Reflections of the swimmers in the water allude to the process of recollection and how we process memories.
I reside in southwestern Nova Scotia, my house overlooks a tidal river, an extension of the ocean. I have spent much time in Ireland at an artist residency in a pre-famine stone cottage, overlooking the Atlantic. Here I became totally immersed in my environment and obsessed with the elements of water and sky, depicting the fluctuating light through gestural brushstrokes and expressive colour. Living beside the ocean has had a profound impact on my work.
The theme of my newest body of work is particularly relevant right now, because of our immediate climate crisis. I want to contribute new insights and realizations to this urgent discourse.
These new paintings are reflections on my concerns about human existence, in a way that is searching and honest, but not without hope. They are backdrops to how I feel, think about, and interpret our fragile, contemporary world.
Eva McCauley is a painter and printmaker, best known for atmospheric, expressive paintings of sky, water and shifting landscapes that explore the disruption of linear time and the transient and ephemeral nature of the world. Her work deals with memory, both the subjective and the collective, and the process of memory retrieval, exploring the process of recollection and how we process memories.
She’s happiest when living close to the ocean and has spent much time living by the Atlantic Ocean in Ireland, and now in southwestern Nova Scotia. Her work has become increasingly concerned with the impact of climate change, particularly in respect to the oceans.
She has exhibited her work in solo exhibitions nationally and internationally: Bau-xi Gallery, Toronto; KW Art Gallery, Kitchener; Open Studio Gallery, Toronto; Elora Centre for the Arts, Elora, ON; and the print installation “In/Visible” was exhibited in Ireland at the Limerick Printmakers Gallery (2010) and the Wandesford Quay Gallery in Cork City (2012). Her work is included in the public collections of the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ernst & Young Canadian Print Collection, Kitchener Waterloo Art Gallery, Waterloo Regional Labour Council, and the Nova Scotia Art Bank.
She is the recipient of awards including the Bronfman Award for Printmaking, W.O. Forsythe Award for Painting, Best in Printmaking at the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, Warner Lambert Scholarship Award for Graduate Studies in Printmaking, and recently received an Arts Nova Scotia Creation Grant.
https://evamccauley.com/home
Alchemy-Air/Salt Water, 2018
Silver Gelatin Print
(2) 20 X 10 in.
Water & Air,
two of the 4 basic elements.
Without them, there is no life.
Air is reflected in water as water is reflected in air.
Through day and night, their surfaces meet and play,
tangled in one another, they dance and mix.
Our existence relies upon both being fresh and clean.
We breathe the air and exist as one with water.
It is our balance.
And without balance,
There is nothing.
Born in Saint John and now based out of Fredericton, NB, Oliver Flecknell is a mixed media artist, practicing primarily in alternative photographic processes. Oliver enjoys the forgotten places, discarded things, and the quiet that this brings to his artistic practice. Rooted in the darkroom, he attempts to reach beyond the swirl of chemicals to play with our perception of photography today. Oliver has been a member of various art collectives, including SilverFish Photography Collective since 2008. His work is regularly featured in group and solo exhibitions and publications.
http://oliverflecknell.com
Whirlpool, 2023
Acrylic on canvas
48 x 48 in.
Whirlpool is a reflection on grief and a contemplation on how tears are water. This work began as an energy portrait of a Fredericton person in 2015. It was left unfinished until recently when I felt an intuitive push to complete it. The morning after finishing the painting in early 2023, I heard the news that the person had tragically passed away. I had no idea that they were unwell. Synchronistic happenings such as this points to an energy beyond death; that there is an unseen substance, that is like water, flowing through everything and connecting us through mysterious happenings.
“Water is the starting point for each of Musgrave’s works. With a blank canvas placed on the floor of her studio, she selects objects of significance: of sentimental, aesthetic, or symbolic meaning, to place on top of the canvas. She sprinkles, sprays, or pours water over the object to capture an impression of the form in pigment. The impression made by the water is like a memory of the object on the canvas. The result is a highly dynamic and fluid expression of memory, story, and a deep connection to water.” ~ Donna Wawzonek
Menagoesg (Saint John, New Brunswick) artist, Deanna Musgrave, is best known for her monumental paintings and public artwork such as, Cloud (2015), which is part of the collection of the University of New Brunswick (Saint John); displayed at the Hans Klohn Commons building in Saint John, and measures 10’ high and 56’ long. Her work Tropos (2011/19), which measures 8’ high and 48’ long, recently found a permanent home at the University of New Brunswick’s (Fredericton) new Kinesiology building.
Musgrave has had a solo exhibition of her works in each year since her graduation from the Mount Allison Fine Arts program in 2005. Early on in her career, she was selected by the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in 2007 for the Studio Watch Award aimed at introducing promising new artists to the public and later included in Off the Grid: Abstract Art in New Brunswick at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in 2014. Most recently, she was selected to be the first artist to fill the entire green wall of the Elizabeth Curry Gallery/Beaverbrook Art Gallery with her work Transcendence in 2022.
Her work has been enthusiastically reviewed by the New Brunswick media, and she has won numerous grants and awards from the New Brunswick Arts Board, Mount Allison University, the University of New Brunswick, and the Canada Council for the Arts.
http://www.deannamusgrave.com/
Echo, 2023
Reed
(2) 28 in. dia
The art piece Echo, consisting of two sphere-like baskets, was created through the technique of random weaving. As I was working on these sculptural baskets which are meant to mark World Water Day, I reflected on how dependent my process is on water. The reed is soaked in water to become pliable enough to weave without breaking and must be sprayed with water throughout the procedure to keep the materials supple.
This exercise has reminded me to be grateful for this often taken for granted precious natural resource.
Jasmine Cull is a Newfoundland born artist. She works in various mediums with a particular passion for working with natural fibres. Jasmine is an active member of Fredericton’s Fibre Arts Network (FAN). She has a BFA from NSCAD University and has been teaching courses and workshops for over twenty years.
https://jasminecull.art/
Tide Body (feeling real), 2021
Plaster, silk and heirloom textile dye
Height: 72 in.
Image credit: Naomi Peters
TideBody (feeling real) is from the series, Touching Visions, which was first exhibited as part of the solo exhibition, Different Layers of the Same Water, at the Saint John Arts Centre in 2021. It explores the body as an archive of sensation, experience, and action.
The works in this series are created through repetitive labour-intensive and experiential means, such as stitching, documenting performative actions, recording my body in plaster and my voice in looped improvised song. It is first time I have used my own image in my work.
TideBody (feeling real) is an exploration of the body's vital entanglements with other human and more-than-human bodies. The gentle movement of the silk as a person walks by the sculpture is indicative of the impacts we have on one another and the world around us. TideBody nods to the resonance of water to highlight our shared responsibility, and connectivity, to the wider ecosystems we inhabit, while reminding us, also, of the inevitability of natural cycles, like the tides.
TideBody emphasizes possibility by blurring lines between self and other, body and land/water, experience and memory, matters and states. Could highlighting the interconnections and overlaps between us spark a collective duty of care for one another and the world to which we belong?
Amy Ash (she/they) is a queer interdisciplinary artist engaged with collective care through processes of shared meaning-making. Her practice flows from curatorial projects and writing to teaching, socially engaged action, and hands-on making. Across disciplines, they trace connectivity through intersections and overlaps between memory, learning, and wonder, to incite curiosity, and kindle empathy. Often working collaboratively, her process seeks to gently disrupt the hegemonic systems that support hierarchy, encouraging connection and carving out space for a polyphony of personal meaning to be created within the context of a shared experience.
Amy has exhibited and curated programmes internationally, with projects commissioned by the National Gallery London (UK), Platform Centre for Photographic and Digital Arts (MB), and Third Space Gallery (NB).
Of white settler ancestry, she is grateful to live in Menahqesk/Menagoesg/Saint John, New Brunswick, on unceeded and unsurrendered land that has been cared for, since time immemorial, by the Wolastoqiyik, Peskotomuhkati, and Mi’kmaq Peoples.
@amy_ash_
Waterlilies, 2013
Pigment Inkjet Print
(5) 36 X 18 in.
As soon as the canoe leaves the water bank my blood pressure slows and my smile widens. Gliding across the surface of the water, I plunge my hand into the pristine lake with my waterproof camera and excitedly pull it out to see what I have captured. I have collected an alternate version that I can reflect on later–another way of not taking this moment, or this resource, for granted. At the exact same moment that I feel joy, I see and respect the fear of danger that water conjures. Ultimately, I know that somewhere, in our not so far away collective future, there is the reality that if we do not act against Climate Change, water could be our demise. It's a unique balance to enjoy the moment, all the while respecting the power of life and death that water possesses.
Lori Patricia Quick grew up on the picturesque island of Grand Manan and began her journey in the arts studying photography at the New Brunswick College of Craft & Design in 2000. She then added a Bachelor of Applied Arts from the University of New Brunswick in 2004, which helped her land her job at the UNB Art Centre in 2005. She still happily works at the UNB Art Centre as Exhibitions & Communications Coordinator, helping artists display their work, facilitating the student art collective, ArtZone, and doing all sorts of other artsy things. She has also been lucky enough to be a member of the SilverFish Photography Collective since 2005 and has participated in numerous group exhibitions with eleven other fine fishy folks. She currently lives in New Maryland, New Brunswick, with her husband, son, daughter, and two cats.
https://www.silverfishphoto.ca/
Redux, 1979-2023
Mixed media
31 X 24.5 X 8 in.
Many of the component parts of this assemblage extend back to the 1970s when I started fusing duck decoys with the detritus of material culture. Over the years, it went through several transformations, including with the addition of part of my son’s science project when my wife and I were homeschooling him in Sackville in the1980s, studying wetland ecology, specifically the hydrology and waterfowl of the Tantramar Marshes.
Contamination of water by human activity, such as urbanization, industrialization and agricultural activities, is a prime environmental problem around the world, creating severe health threats and devastating effects on the biodiversity of plants and animals. Redux speaks to this reality, to the critical importance of water not only to ducks, but to the Earth's ecosystems, which are indispensable for the survival of all living things, and to the need to dramatically reduce our ecological footprint and curtail the impact of waste products on this valuable resource.
In Latin, “redux” means "brought back" or "bringing back." As the work’s title, “redux” not only refers to the recycling of scrap materials, but also of water, as water never gets added to or disappears from the planet but is constantly recycled. Within healthy aquatic ecosystems, water serves to recycle productive nutrients. However, when water is polluted with manufactured herbicides and pesticides, fertilizers, industrial waste, radioactive substances, gas and oil, raw sewage and plastics, it loses its self-generating capacity. What gets recycled and makes its way into drinking water and food are deadly toxins detrimental to the web of life.
Frankenfish in Flux, 1989-2023
Mixed media
9 X 30.5 X 2 in.
7 X 21 X 8 in.
Not unlike many coastal cities in the world, Halifax has had a long history of dumping raw sewage, industrial waste, chemical contaminants, and all kinds of refuse into the ocean. In the late 1980s, I created a large installation based on the diseased, deformed, and mutated fish found in the Halifax Harbour as a result of high levels of toxic pollution that have impacted the ecological health of marine biota. It consisted of different fish forms constructed from some of the garbage found in and around the harbour.
Part of the original Frankenfish series, this work is intended as a reflection on how nature has been altered by technology. As Earth becomes more and more degraded and destroyed by human activity, scientists are busy replacing actual nature with technological nature. There are robotic bees that collect pollen in response to the alarming decline in the honey-bee population, robotic plants that have roots that grow and can detect gravity, water, temperature, touch, pH, nitrate and phosphate in any environment, and “Robo-fish” that remove microplastics from the seas and monitor and control water quality to keep aquaculture systems of tightly-packed fish populations healthy.
While such marvels of science are remarkable and function to help save threatened species, reduce pollution, and counter the tremendous destruction humankind has wrought upon the planet, one thing that scientists have not been able to replicate is the miracle of water, which is responsible for the very emergence of life and its sustainability.
Terry Graff is a multi-media visual artist whose distinctive artistic vision combines whimsy and horror to speak to the conflicted relationship between nature and technology and to other troubling existential themes of our time. The recipient of major commissions, grants, and awards, his mixed media drawings, paintings, collages, assemblages, sculpture, kinetic works, and multi-media installations have been presented regionally, nationally, and internationally to both critical and popular acclaim.
Born in Cambridge (Galt), Ontario, Graff studied painting as a child at the Doon School of Fine Arts and completed the three-year Fine Art program at Fanshawe College of Applied Arts and Technology before receiving a B.A. in Fine Art from the University of Guelph and a B.Ed in Visual Arts from the University of Western Ontario. Along with graduate work in art history, media arts and art education at Wayne State University (Detroit, Michigan), he received a postgraduate diploma in Fine Art from the Jan Van Eyck Academie (Masstricht, the Netherlands), and holds a M.A. in Art Education from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design.
In addition to his extensive history of exhibitions and accomplishments as a visual artist, Graff has had a distinguished career as an art educator, art writer, curator, and gallery director. He has served as executive director of four public art galleries in four different provinces of Canada: the Beaverbrook Art Gallery (NB), the Mendel Art Gallery (SK), Rodman Hall Arts Centre (ON), and Confederation Centre Art Gallery (PE), and of the artist-run Struts Gallery in Sackville (NB).
https://terrygraff.com/
Agwanjin (Within the Water), 2022
Acrylic on birch board
12 X 12 in.
Reflections are not always about what we immediately perceive at face value but sometimes what lies deeper within. If we only look at what is presented in front of us, we may miss the potential, strength, and magic of what we never knew was hidden just below the surface. When we take the time to search within ourselves, we are often reminded of our past and most importantly of our resilience as well as the connections we have to the earth, sky, and water around us.
Within this piece are representations of the nurturing and growth that come from the 7 Grandfather Teachings (Love, Respect, Bravery, Truth, Humility, Wisdom, & Honesty) as well as a being known as Mishibizhew (Great Water Panther), powerful spirits that live in the depths below and watch over the waterways both great and small. Together, they show us that even within these ever changing and sometimes environmentally dark times, when we look to the strength and spirit within ourselves, we have it in us to bravely face the future and change it for the better. As well, they show us the importance of respecting our water systems and the life that can be found within.
Adrienne Assinewai is a visual artist born and raised on Manitoulin Island in beautiful Northern Ontario, she grew up surrounded by her traditional culture and nature and was driven to express and share these treasures with others from a young age. Now based along the charming coastline of Little Shemogue, New Brunswick, Adrienne continues to be inspired by the natural world and creates from her private home studio. Her work can be found in galleries and shops nationally and within the surrounding area throughout the year.
Never one to shy away from experimenting with multiple mediums, her creative style is constantly evolving. Her work ranges from felted sculptures to acrylic paintings and digital pieces.
https://www.ravenstarstudio.ca/
Samqwan, 2023
Porcupine Quills, Birch Bark, Canvas
10 X 20 in.
Ocean waves calm the water I am made up of. The energy of it thrashing around, hitting against the boat or my body, it mixes up and communicates with the water within me and reminds me to ride the waves of life, it reminds me that waves are sometimes calm and sometimes rough, but that they are both so natural. It’s the salty scent that immediately takes me to a long-ago place, sometime before I existed in this body. A subconscious memory arises, that might mistakenly be taken for just a feeling, but those feelings of safety, peace, jubilance, and connection arise in me when I smell the sea, and that is what I think are memories. And as I go to this heavenly place within, when I’m near, or on or in the ocean, I imagine the moon resides in the space between the long-ago place, and this world, and she is our liaison. She connects to the sea in celestial ways and then that connection extends to me. She sends messages to the sea and the sea sends them to me. Water is this life, and it is also my connection to the other life, where I existed before I did in this body, somewhere in the long-ago place.
Starlit Simon is Mi’kmaq from Elsipogtog First Nation and a full time PhD candidate at the University of New Brunswick in the Faculty of Education. She has previously worked as a Mi’kmaw language instructor and as an academic advisor to Indigenous post-secondary students at UNB. Starlit received her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from UNB in 2006 and her Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Saint Thomas University in 2012. She went on to receive her Master of Fine Arts in Creative Nonfiction from the University of Kings College in 2015. Her writing has been published in the National Geographic Traveler, Dawnland Voices, Dawnland Voices 2.0 and The Fiddlehead.
She can often be found highway hunting for porcupine roadkill where she harvests the porcupine quills to create pieces of art. Simon has had her artwork on display at the Saint John Art Gallery and has been an award recipient of the Arts NB Equinox Program in 2020 and 2021. She was also selected as a participant for the Arts Link Cross Cultural Creation Residency in the Spring of 2021 and has given Artist Talks at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery and at the Atlantic Artist Symposium. Simon’s academic research focuses on Exploring Two-Eyed Seeing (Etuaptmumk) Through Art Production to Facilitate Healing with Mi’kmaq Youth in Digital and Physical Spaces and was awarded the SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship in May of 2022.
www.starlitsimon.com
Tranquility, 2022
Digital print
10 X 12 in.
As an artist, I am captivated by the theme of reflections. Whether it is in a literal sense, as in the way light bounces off a surface and creates a mirror image, or in a more abstract sense, as in the way we reflect on our experiences and emotions. Reflections are a powerful and intriguing subject for me.
Through my art, I strive to capture the many different forms of reflection that exist in our world. I use a variety of mediums, from photography and poetry, to create works that explore the many layers of reflection. Water is a dynamic and ever-changing medium, and the way it reflects light and color creates a world of possibilities for my art. My work focuses on capturing the way water can transform a scene, creating a sense of depth and movement that draws the viewer in.
Ultimately, my goal as an artist is to create works that inspire reflection in the viewer. I want my art to serve as a mirror, reflecting back to the viewer their own experiences and emotions, and encouraging them to explore and contemplate their place in the world. Whether through the beauty of a sunset reflected in a still lake, or the complexity of human relationships reflected in a portrait, I hope my art encourages a deeper understanding of the world and ourselves.
“Capture what hasn’t been captured before.”
Ramneet Kalra is a multi-disciplinary artist who combines his passions for poetry and photography. He is self-taught taught and uses his images to capture the essence of his surroundings. Ramneet also discovered his love for poetry and started to integrate his writing into his photographic work. Ramneet loves traveling, capturing images and writing poems that reflect his experiences and perspectives. His photographs are characterized by their evocative use of light and color, and his poems often explore themes of nature, solitude, and the human condition.
Ramneet’s artwork has been shown in exhibitions in India, USA and in Canada. He was an Artist-in-Residence for Fredericton Arts Alliance and his work was on display with the Connexions ARC at the Charlotte Glencross Gallery in the Charlotte Street Art Centre, Fredericton NB and at Pattes de mouche Gallery in Moncton. As well as his visual work, Ramneet has written and read various poems publicly. He was interviewed for CHSR Radio by Mark Kilfoil in 2022. As well, he volunteered for CCNB (Conservation Council of New Brunswick) and Nature Canada for COP 15 where he taught poetry writing.
@storypix_studio
Ripples, 2022
Pigment print on metallic paper
16 X 48 in.
Like most biologists and many artists, I am concerned with how we are affecting the biosphere, our only life-support system. We take things like clean air, water, and food for granted, and do not seem to understand how all these things depend critically on the underlying ecology.
This image of a forest reflected in a slow-moving stream speaks to me of the complexity, interconnectivity and synergy of the hydrosphere and the idea that without water neither the ecosystems nor life itself could exist. The deep, royal-blue stream flows under everything, always there but never the same, while the golden reflections of life criss-cross and waver on the surface. The ripples in the foreground allude to my optimism that positive ideas can spread outward from individual events and are able to effect significant changes in the patterns of the reflections.
In this image I also see the magic of water, the ubiquitous shapeshifter an illusionist, an agent of time to which all matter eventually yields. It is implacable, a shaper of continents, mover of mountains, and bringer of life and energy. It keeps our secrets and soothes our needs. It even mirrors our moods whether turbulent or languid, joyfully bubbly, or serenely still, lazily meandering or rushing headlong. Combined with its partner light, it is no wonder we photographers and artists are endlessly fascinated.
Robyn Shortt is a fine art nature photographer who lives and works in Fredericton, New Brunswick. She has a background in both biology and art, and is happiest working out in the field, observing, and photographing plants and animals in their own landscapes. Her study of life has helped her appreciate the complexity, diversity, and interconnectivity in the world around us. Because our experiences of nature can be impressionistic as we move through the world or intimately detailed when we stop to look more closely, she strives to create art that reflects those experiences.
As a Juried Member of Craft New Brunswick, she participated in the Beneath the Surface Artist Residency in Fundy National Park in 2022 which culminated in a Group Installation in Fundy National Park (June 24, 2023 to end of season). My work has won Honourable Mention and First Place in the Boldbrush Art Contest (Outstanding Digital Art) and has been selected by the judges in the top 15% several times.
https://www.robynshortt.com/
Eclipse, 2022
Mixed media
79 X 79 X 79 in.
Eclipse is a reflection on the transience of time, the process of transition, and the concept of birth as an opening. The devastating impact of the war in Ukraine has left behind a trail of destruction and decay, represented by the infernal and arid storm. This serves as a metaphor for the fragile and precarious nature of life and events.
Amidst the chaos and uncertainty, the passing river serves as a symbol of hope and renewal. It cleanses and continues its perpetual cycle of life, reminding us of the resilience and adaptability of the human spirit.
"Eclipse is an invitation for us to reflect on the complexities of humanity in transition, and the ways in which we navigate the ever-changing landscape of life."
Éclipse est une réflexion sur la fugacité du temps, le processus de transition, et la naissance en tant qu’ouverture. L’impact dévastateur de la guerre en Ukraine a laissé derrière lui un sillage de destruction et de décomposition, représenté par la tempête infernale et aride. Celle-ci est une métaphore de la nature fragile et précaire de la vie et des événements.
Au milieu du chaos et de l’incertitude, la rivière qui s’écoule est un symbole d’espoir et de renouveau. Elle nettoie et poursuit son cycle de vie perpétuel, nous rappelant la résilience et l’adaptabilité de l’esprit humain.
"Éclipse est une invitation à réfléchir sur les complexités de l’humanité en transition et sur les façons dont nous naviguons dans le paysage en perpétuelle évolution de la vie."
Serge Gilles Richard is a Canadian artist who currently resides in Kedgwick, New Brunswick. He received his degree in graphic arts from Holland College in Prince Edward Island and continued his studies at the Université de Moncton, exploring various forms of artistic expression. During the first fifteen years of his fine art career, Richard concentrated on figurative acrylic paintings and large-scale drawings. The year 2000 saw a shift towards abstraction and a more intuitive approach to his art. In particular, his series Enveloppé d’une fragilité humaine (Wrapped in human frailty) exemplified a more fluid style that emerged based on his inner life. In the following years, Richard turned to photography and sculpture to convey his artistic message. He regularly exhibits his work in in New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario in both solo and group shows. In 2014, he participated in Imagined Dialogues, a prestigious exhibition at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery whose purpose it was to create an inter-generational dialogue through work created by fourteen contemporary Acadian artists following its presentation at the World Acadian Congress 2014 in Edmundston, New Brunswick. Richard is the recipient of Research, Creation and Career Development grants from ArtsNB, The Sheila Hugh Mackay Foundation and the Canada Council for the Arts.
https://sergevrichard.art/
Seaside II, 2021
Film photograph on linen canvas
36 X 48 in.
Seaside II is part of a body of work titled Systems that was produced in 2021 during the ArtsLink Cross Cultural Creation Residency in Kouchibouguac National Park and comprises a series of film photographs and poems that are set to be published as a book later this year.
The series was inspired by relationships and tensions between the body and the natural environment, with particular attention paid to navigating nature in a chronically ill or disabled body. The work concerns itself with the ways that movement within these spaces has become commodified as desires to conquer over, measure against, or compete with the natural world continue to endure. The creation of these pieces necessitated a slow contemplative process of writing poetry while immersed in the seaside environment, and that left room for natural intervention and error by virtue of the nature of film photography.
Water became a deeply influential motif within these considerations. Seaside II in particular describes an acknowledgement of the ocean that is equal parts appreciation and surrender. Even with advancements in technology, whether they relate to the environment or the body, nature remains the most powerful force. In imagining my body at the mercy of the ocean in the poem and imagining the driftwood as a body in the photograph, I enjoyed visualizing a relationship between humans and the ocean that emphasized the challenges, and the beauty, that come with being part of the living world worthy of respect and protection.
Christiana Myers (she/her) is a curator, writer, museum educator, and artist based in Menagoesg (Saint John, New Brunswick). She holds a BFA from Mount Allison University, an MLitt Curatorial Practice from the Glasgow School of Art, and is currently pursuing her doctoral studies in Art History through the University of Glasgow.
Her creative practice includes producing artwork, curating exhibitions and events, critical art writing, and creative writing. Within this, she often explores concepts of care—for oneself, others, communities, or the environment. Her recent writing and artwork that explore the intersections of art and illness as well as climate conservation and creative collaboration have appeared in C Magazine, the Maritime Edit, and at the Sunbury Shores Art & Nature Centre, the Saint John Arts Centre, the Molly Kool Centre, and the Third Shift contemporary art festival.
https://www.christianamyers.com/
The Gift
Oil on wood, 2023
24 in. dia
Magaguadavic Falls, 2023
Oil on wood
24 in. dia
I have created two paintings in direct response to the call to artists for REFLECTIONS and World Water Day 2023. Both works have gratitude in mind for the abundance of clean water that we enjoy in New Brunswick. The round format of both paintings alludes to the planet, the circular nature of the water cycle, and the perfect wholeness of the shape which I connect to the beauty and necessity of clean water in our homes and the bodies of water throughout our province.
The Gift which portrays a friend’s sink, reminds us of how much we take for granted the luxury of easy access to clean water in our households. As we know, this is not the reality for so many people around the world, and as of January 2023, for families in 29 First Nations communities in Canada. It is difficult to truly appreciate the enormity of the effect on individuals who are denied this human right.
Magaguadavic, Second Falls is a place close to my heart. It is in the community where my extended family have lived for generations and where my parents still reside. The Second Falls Bridge and the Falls are reference points, touchstones, and a place of many memories for the families who live nearby. The gorgeous sparkling water is where we swam, fished, and paddled on perfect summer days. My memory of it is visceral and still living as I attempted to express its colors with love.
Theresa MacKnight is a committed painter led by curiosity and exploration within her practice. She finds direction within a strong sense of place, imagination, and personal history. Theresa exhibits her work in public and private galleries throughout New Brunswick. She was recently the recipient of the Margaret Woodson Nae Mentorship to study painting through the Sheila Hugh MacKay Foundation. She has been the recipient of ArtsNB grants and completed several residencies including a summer residency at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in 2022.
In addition to her lifelong painting practice, MacKnight has been an educator and advocate for visual arts in schools and communities. She has taught in public schools and art centers with both youth and adults and worked on various curriculum development and arts advocacy projects. She has served on boards such as Sunbury Shores Arts & Nature Centre.
Theresa MacKnight holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Nova Scotia College of Art and Design) and a Bachelor of Education (University of New Brunswick). She now lives and works in St. Andrews, New Brunswick.
www.theresamacknight.com
Aquifers, 2021
Hand dyed and commercial cotton
38 X 16 in.
Drinkable water is precious. As I sewed this, I thought of the imbalance in the world and of people who spend hours of their day, every day, sourcing enough water to live.
I was inspired by a music video by The Piano Guys with Alex Boye singing Peponi, a Swahili word for paradise. Choosing fabric hues based on video images, I cut organic shapes. As I stitched pieces together, then sliced and rearranged them improvisationally, I discovered that I was creating strata. The intuitive positioning of colours and shapes suggested aquifers to me.
An aquifer is a body of porous rock or sediment saturated with groundwater. Groundwater is replenished when precipitation seeps through the soil. Drought, loss of permeable land, and overuse threaten aquifers, as does contamination. If we do not pay attention to protecting the resource, water poverty can happen to any of us.
Contemporary textile artist Lee McLean is excited by colour and visual texture. In her innovative practice she explores composition and content using techniques mastered over twenty years as a quilter. Reflecting upon her lived experience, she creates thread-stitched designs using printed, hand-dyed, and painted fabrics. To increase a connection to her materials, she has begun experimenting with dyeing and mark-making, creating the surface design of the fabric she uses. She is currently interested in our declining visibility in society as we age, and in our inter-generational baggage.
McLean is based in New Maryland, New Brunswick, Canada and holds certificates in Advanced Studio Practice in Textiles as well as Foundation Visual Arts from the New Brunswick College of Craft & Design. Her former life in software development has likely influenced her practice - fortunately or unfortunately is still up for debate. Her impactful works have been shown in juried exhibitions nationwide. Her visual arts practice is supported by grants from the New Brunswick Arts Board and Canada Council for the Arts.
https://www.leemclean.ca/
Artificial Sunrise, 2023
Digital photograph
24 X 36 in.
One of the most primal things that define us as human beings is our storytelling. It shapes our languages and how we understand the world around us. Of all the ways to do so, photography is how my stories awaken.
With the work Artificial Sunrise, I aimed to create photographs that spark a reflection on the impacts of plastic waste on marine life. Plastic has a constant presence in our lives. How harmless it seems until we find ourselves surrounded by it, blending into our environment until it starts to become it. My photographs explore the idea of an artificial ocean made by the image of what it once was, where the sunrise shines upon its reflective but lifeless surface.
Andressa Cutini is a first-year photography student at NBCCD. Before moving to Canada, she graduated in advertising from her hometown, Vila Velha, Brazil. It is here that she learned about marketing and graphic design. Her most recent work explores storytelling as a way to embrace her passion for literature and cinema. Through her photographs, she is always searching to capture what makes us tell stories, and how that transcends our human notions of time.
@andressacutini
Limitless, 2021
Acrylic on canvas
36 X 54 in.
My art explores what is essential in nature, observing the subtle sometimes shifting relationships of colours, textures and forms that connect the sky, sea and land in seemingly random but often surprisingly meaningful and metaphorical ways. In my painting titled Limitless, the clouds drifting across the sky appear as reflections on the surface of the sea below, ultimately drawing attention to the interconnectedness and fleeting nature of the world around us. As a practicing artist the forces of nature provide inspiration for my paintings.
Mary Blatherwick teaches art, design, and creative education in the undergraduate and graduate Education programs at the University of New Brunswick. Her research interests include intercultural understanding, visual literacy, arts-based resource development, community arts, and creativity. She has developed resources on intercultural understanding, conducted surveys on visual literacy, and produced a series of short documentaries which examine the concept of creative practice. Mary has received prestigious awards for her excellence in teaching. She has recently co-authored the text Creative Dimensions of Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century and is the chair of the Atlantic centre of Creativity and the Canadian Network for Imagination and Creativity.
https://maryblatherwick.wordpress.com/about/
Prayers to the River, 2023
Video installation
Video, clay, gold leaf, sand
Prayers to The River (an act of conscious, intentional reflection) is an environmental installation that came out of a previous on-going body of work called Who Will Pray for Sisson Brook? Prayers to The River is really an act of reflecting upon, honouring, and acknowledging the intricate value of water— all waters, as a real, existent source of life and wellbeing.
The clay vessel form is representative of redds. This is the term for the bowl-like depression salmon make in the riverbed to lay their eggs in. It is the place of birth and life. The gold leaf symbolises that which has been the symbol of ultimate (misplaced) value and the act of giving it away, returning it back to the earth, gives thanks and recognition of what has true value. This piece symbolises the prayer - may we know our true purpose, to give thanks and to protect our home.
This work came about during a transition in my art practice where I started to pay attention to the work rather than my ideas about the work. I started to listen and follow where it was going and what it was suggesting. This led me to start engaging with the environment directly, as in a partnership, in a way. And this ‘following the work's direction’ has brought me to working with video and prose, both art practices that scare me. I think this is the point of making art, going to places that scare me. I find this work becomes complete through the environment. Prayer for the River is an ongoing environmental installation and made possible due to the support of artsnb.
Often combining found objects into his work, Schneider explores relationships between materials and processes. Metal, clay, painting, video and prose are expressive tools that presently challenge and engage his practice. The environments of river and saltwater-shoreline have become new participants in this process of exploration.
Educated at the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design and the Nova Scotia College of Craft and Design (now NSCAD University) Schneider taught at NBCCD for 16 years and has maintained a studio in Fredericton for over 30. He has architectural ceramic works in all Atlantic Provinces with several pieces here in Fredericton. He has received grants from artsnb and the Canada Council. His works can be found in the collections of the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, the University of New Brunswick and the province of New Brunswick.
He is presently working on an artsnb grant developing a visual language that can move between his ceramic work and his painting.
@craiganthonyschneider
The Pond, 2019
Oil on linen
48 X 48 in.
This one small body of water has held my focus in painting for over two decades. It is the pond on our property and is the subject of dreams and plans which never come to fruition because I do not want to interrupt the continuous and varied life cycles I witness in its shallow space. Over the seasons I quietly observe the changing reflection of the overhead skies mixed with leaves falling to the surface, their decomposition, and the spring gifts of huge tadpole sacs. It is a tucked away, busy spot where I have learned the life sustaining value of every body of water, no matter how small, and where I have learned to be a steward of the environment.
Award winning visual artist, arts educator and arts advocate, Ann Manuel has worked for over thirty years in communities across North America, UK, Europe, and Asia. Using drawing, painting, printmaking and installation, Manuel’s multi-media practice is deeply influenced by life processes and revolves around themes related to daily life, relationships, community, and environment.
Manuel has been exhibiting since an early age and has been included in group and solo exhibitions in Canada, Scotland, France, Italy, Brazil, Cuba, and Thailand. Her Sanctuary land work and related two-dimensional works around the idea of home and environmental stewardship were recognized with the 2016 Marie Hélène Allain Fellowship Award, the 2017 Margery Nae Mentorship Award and in in 2019 with the Eidlitz Award. She is the recipient of artsNB and Canada Council grants. Ann’s work can be found in collections across Canada, including Collection ArtNB, Province of NL, Mount Alison University, University of New Brunswick and Memorial University in Atlantic Canada as well as the H.M.P. Scottish Prison System and most recently the Smithsonian Environmental Research Centre (Altered Environments Portfolio).
Born in Newfoundland, Ann Manuel holds a BFA (Mount Allison University), B.Ed. Artist in the Community Program (Queen’s University), and Master of Arts (University of British Columbia). Ann currently lives and maintains a full-time studio practice in Fredericton, N.B., Canada.
Liquid Gold, 2022
Pigment print
24 X 36 in.
Since I was a child, it was instilled in me to take care of the natural resources that we obtain from our planet. Water is essential for socioeconomic development, energy, food production, ecosystems and for the survival of all living beings, including humans. The hydrological cycle is of vital importance for the functioning of natural ecosystems and climate regulation.
I was taking sunrise photos the day I took this photo, the reflections of the sun on the water caught my eye and inspired by one of my instructor's photographs, I shot directly at the surface of the river and got this incredible golden color. Reflecting on this made me think , if we do not take care of the water, the day will come when it will cost more than gold, please value it.
Germán García is of Mexican origin. Because of his passion for bird photography, he enrolled in Photography/Videography at New Brunswick College of Craft & Design as an international student, where he is taking the first year of the program to learn techniques and improve his skills. From beautiful sunrises to amazing sunsets, and always with great attention to light, Germán shows us portraits, landscapes and wildlife in his photography.
@ggwildphotographies; @germanflock
Playful Drops, 2021
Digital print
36 x 48 in.
Playful Drops is a photograph of raindrops falling into a puddle of water on my patio on a rainy day.
Water is something which we do not think about; we do not stop to appreciate its beauty. We pass over the little details that water has for us every day. With this image I want the observer to be surprised by the details that have been overlooked and reflect on their own relationship with water. I would like to inspire the viewer to seek those little details of water and marvel at them.
I am a Mexican Visual Artist/Photographer based in Fredericton. I am currently completing the last year of the Photography/Videography Diploma at New Brunswick College of Craft & Design (NBCCD). The beauty of life, memories, and people are subjects I am passionate to photograph. I love discovering what makes each of my subjects unique and connecting with them through my art.
https://miriamtorreslopez.myportfolio.com/
Wolostoq–Eerie Beauty–The Green, 2018
Pigment print
24 X 36 in.
Wolostoq–Eerie Beauty–The Green. In the midst of the chaos of 2018 when the mighty Wolostoq spilled over its banks, scenes of incredible beauty reminded us of the power of water, causing us to reflect on our relationship to it. The Green in downtown Fredericton flooded creating astonishing light reflections from trees, and bridges in the gentle ripples along the new riverbank, underpasses became waterways and weeping willows, and other trees gained a new watery home. Flooding has been occurring more often here than in the past, causing many to rethink where they have chosen to live. That year, Fredericton and Maugerville passed the flood levels by April 27th, and water levels reached 7.85 meters and 6.17 metres, respectively.
That year, I volunteered to work with dairy cows that had been evacuated from a farm in Maugerville that were being housed temporarily on the Fredericton Exhibition Grounds. It was hard work, but harder was seeing and hearing about the destruction the water caused for farms and homeowners along the Wolostoq. I wandered by the river photographing the eerie beauty of the overflow.
For Karen Ruet, creating a life in photography became a dream to pursue when someone challenged the notion. She enrolled in classes at Toronto Metropolitan University and reveled in the joy of wandering the city creating documentary style photographs, mostly of people, then experiencing the thrill of going into the dark and seeing faces emerging on darkroom paper. Memories of joining her high school photography club came rushing back and the same magic flooded her soul. When she had the opportunity to move home to New Brunswick by enrolling in classes at the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design, she jumped on it. She earned the Duffie Crowell Award for the most worthy or deserving student pursuing a career in fine craft at her graduation, then jumped into freelance work primarily for the Telegraph Journal where she photographed and wrote arts stories. Now, Ruet works full-time at NBCCD, teaching photography and managing the George Fry Gallery. She is a founding member of the Fredericton Photography Collective, SilverFish.
