Artist in Gwaii Haanas exhibition
Artists in Gwaii Haanas | Siobhan Humston, Sheila Karrow, Gregoire Mabit
Haida Gwaii Museum | June 29 -September 15, 2018
This is a three person exhibition conceived by Haida Gwaii Museum and Parks Canada as part of the Artists in Gwaii Haanas Artist in Residence program. Last July, we spent two weeks exploring Gwaii Haanas and making work in response to that incredible adventure back in the museum in Skidegate.
My works in this show were made in various studios over the last year. In the museum I made ninety drawings with graphite paint on photo paper in response to the number of photographs I had taken of islands, then on my return, I suspended them with fishing line on a large elm branch (From the Forest We See Water, From the Ocean We Breathe Land drawing installation).
The Never an Island series of 114 drawings (graphite & watercolour) began in New Zealand and completed at the Sitka Center for Art & Ecology in Oregon where I also made four twin pine needle boats with silver wire constructs (three are shown in this exhibition) titled Other Ways to Find Home. The 36″ square drawings (How to Make an Island #1, 2, 3 & 7) were also created in Oregon during this past autumn and winter, inspired by the Haida creation stories alongside my own thoughts around connection to nature and the term ‘isolation’.
Lastly, the piece in the plexi cabinet, Kunghit Island Finds is an arrangement of 891 pieces of plastic waste from an uninhabited island coastline in south west Gwaii Haanas, collected in under two hours. (read more under the Collection heading, Kunghit Island Finds)
Thank you to Nika Collison (ED & Curator) and to the Museum and Parks Canada staff, and especially to Kathy Pick who graciously used her Air Miles to fly me up for the installation and opening as well as hosted me in her home for both visits! Haawa.
