“Then she found a small clearing surrounded by firs
And she stopped... and she heard what the trees said to her
And she sat there for hours not wanting to leave
For the forest said nothing it just let her breathe”
-Excerpt from Breathe by Becky Hemsley
In an era dominated by the ceaseless glow of artificial satellites, astronomers worldwide find themselves immersed in a profound sense of melancholy. The once-prominent stars that adorned our night skies are fading into obscurity, overshadowed by the relentless intrusion of man-made luminance. This diminishing celestial spectacle has given birth to a poignant term: "Noctalgia."
This collection is representative of my fundamental view of the world. The shapes and colours portrayed in these paintings demonstrate the experience of place informed by travelling within the landscape.
My art practice allows me to connect with place and people in a unique way. I am passionate about science and the arts, using the interplay between these in my practice. The process for me starts with an overall concept and then work I with shape, colour and composition to examine light and perspective in abstraction.
Work in this collection has been largely inspired by my recent residency at the Gushul Studio in the Crowsnest Pass this fall and a previous one in the spring of 2017.
“…when you build a thing you cannot merely build that thing in isolation, but must also repair the world around it, and within it, so that the larger world at that one place becomes more coherent and more whole; and the thing which you make takes its place in the web of nature, as you make it.” (Christopher Alexander, 1977)
~Holly Ann Friesen
Artist Statement • Living Colour
Our planet is changing quickly and we are becoming increasingly aware of our own impact on our surroundings—and the way we see the natural world changes with it. The beauty and tragedy of sunlight light filtering through a smoky summer afternoon, the increased rarity of a bear sighting, the magical trickle of a creek threatened by glacial retreat. Capturing these places as they are now is as much about celebrating their current beauty as it is about working through the emotional gravity of the changes. Nature & humanity—we are dynamic and full of energy. Living Colour is about rending the veil of an anxious future and seeing the fullness of what we are surrounded by in the present moment. Michael Hepher exhibits an all-new body of work that draws from that life-force and presents a series of large and medium works intended to overlay a colourful, grateful lens on these sacred places and beings that share the Elk River Valley and beyond.
ELEVATION GALLERY FERNIE
