Mixed media
work by Karin Millson will be on show in ArtSpring’s lobby for the month of
May. Karin invited Bernadette
Mertens-McAllister to show alongside her.
In Karin’s FIBRE CYCLE: A SERIES we
are invited to walk through stands of assorted trees, take in views to the sea,
intimately observe deeply-grooved and sculptured bark. The pieces demonstrate the fibre cycle,
from strong, tall tree growth, through logged and split lumber, to the
recycling of paper and back to the growth of healthy woodland.
There are
oblique references: a telegraph pole with coloured wire and staples, holding
remnants of shows long past; and finally, you are invited to add your chewing
gum deposit before entering the theatre.
“HEART GROVE SERIES” by
Bernadette Mertens-McAllister uses mixed media and an unconventional use of
paint and photography. The artist
expresses her feelings caused by human greed, negligence and disrespectful
practices of forestry. By using art material in an insulting and abusive way
Bernadette expresses her grief, confusion and fear
Such is the demand for exhibition space at ArtSpring on Saltspring Island that I have had this space booked for more than two years.
I cannot believe that that is how long we have lived on this fabulous, art-enriched place. I am thankful for whatever cause it was that brought us here be it fate, planning, luck, or the west wind. One thing is certain, in this environment I am supported and strengthened and my art has the opportunity of developing.
This latest exhibition explores..... well, here is my artist statement, and that of my accompanying artist collaborator... Bernadette Martens Mcallister.
Artist: Karin Millson
FIBRE
CYCLE: A SERIES
This body of
work demonstrates a mental struggle that I have. I want to be an environmentally responsible person living
respectfully on this planet yet I know that I cannot but have a devastating
effect on my immediate surroundings simply by being.
In this series of works, I attempt to depict what I
see, feel and think when I take a forest walk, as I acknowledge that forests
exist alongside humankind as part of a cycle of fibre – from wood comes lumber,
from lumber comes paper, from paper comes compost, in compost grow saplings and
so on.
The artworks are made of predominantly up-cycled
materials. The methods are as
eco-friendly as I could make them, yet this collection forms part of the cycle
and the conflict itself.
Artist: Bernadette Mertens-McAllister
“HEART
GROVE SERIES”
This body of
work is dedicated to a small cluster of magnificent cedar and fir trees that
are being clear-cut for lumber. It
is a special place nested in a 45 acres lot on Beddis Rd, Salt Spring
Island. Beneath the towering
trees, I found a large heart on the ground made of boughs covered with
moss. I call this place Heart
Grove. When standing there,
one is connected with Nature, the trees and the forest.
This series is
about grieving for the Heart Grove and all our forests doomed to be greedily clear-cut. Like any
clear-cutting practice, my art displayed here seems to be done with negligence,
disrespect and lack of beauty. It
expresses my confusion and fear every time I hear the harassing noise of the
chain-saw a breath away from my doorstep.
Forgiveness and
a realisation that all is impermanent will carry me through these months of
devastation. I hope and wish that
this secret and sacred place, I call Heart Grove, will remain intact for
all of us.
