AMY LIEBENBERG
‘FELLED’
Drawings and paintings
"Although I’ve been working on this series for over a decade, it certainly is very timely with the conversation about old-growth logging taking place globally, and especially with Fairy Creek protests happening as we speak.
I think this work speaks to the inherent sadness about these giants coming down and ecosystems being destroyed, but it also talks about growth, such as stumps as nurse trees, and new ecosystems being created in the driftwood piles on the beaches. The work also unironically is created on paper and wood panel, which indicates how dependent we all are on the logging industry." -- Amy Liebenberg
THOMASINA PIDGEON
‘Changing Squamish, Part 1: For Sale’
Photography
"Art is a powerful tool to share the beauty and fragility of the world in which we live and to bring awareness to the difficult political, economic, social and environmental issues of our time. It is important to me that I stay true to myself, whether it is photographing complex issues, like this current project, or the simplicity and beauty that I appreciate in life. A diverse and unfiltered world has character, culture and soul which provides meaning and connection. Too often we lose sight of what is important in life and what exactly “The Good Life” is. Values can get pushed to the side out of pressure or perhaps for more lucrative adventures. In the process of gentrification, community is displaced and paradise is paved.
Photography is simply another way to try and get people to pay attention to the forces working in and around us. In this particular project, I aim to shine a light on how these development changes seriously impact the land and the people living in and around Squamish. For alternative ways, I consider questions like, what could happen if we move from the current profit-driven, growth-dependent economy to giving up some so the future can have more? What happens when sacred views are protected rather than commodified? How do ideas such as a Just Transition, reconciliation and revitalization fully and honestly fit into this equation?" -- Thomasina Pidgeon
ANDREA HOFF
‘The Architecture of Happiness’
Ceramics
"This exhibit ‘The Architecture of Happiness’ came out of my contemplations of ‘home’ over the past year and a half, especially through the pandemic. As we all spent more and more time in our homes, often negotiating the fear and uncertainty of the larger world in various stages of lockdowns and social distancing, the idea of home began to change—to both expand and to contract.
Through connecting with others through distanced video calls we have been able to glimpse into each other’s homes in ways that are at once intimate and removed. In doing so, the idea of home and what it represents began to shift for me. What is a home? Is it a house, an apartment, a campervan, a park, a person, an idea, a feeling?" -- Andrea Hoff
