madaabii

madaabii | s/he/they goes down to shore is an ambitious, large-scale multidisciplinary commissioning art project that draws inspiration from Gichigami (Lake Superior), one of the world’s largest sources of freshwater. This project sought to engage 27 artists to create works that are inspired by the cultural and industrial history, ecology and sacredness of this living body of water.

This unprecedented commissioning project was made possible through the Canada Council for the Arts’ New Chapter initiative and will be unveiled as the first exhibition at the New Waterfront Art Gallery at Prince Arthur’s Landing in Thunder Bay.

As we near the end of the commissioning phase details of the artists’ concepts and intent in their works will be gradually revealed over the coming weeks in short, reflective video interviews, here on the Gallery’s website and through our social media channels.

READ MORE

Artist Profile

Sharon Breckenridge

For thirty years, she has been collecting and relating with natural materials to form baskets of unusual configurations and uniquely expressive design. Her current work-in-progress for the Thunder Bay Art Gallery’s madaabi project includes five sculptural works. In referencing the majestic Gichigami (Lake Superior), the artist is challenging herself with increasingly large woven constructions.

The richness of texture and colour in Sharon’s sculptural baskets create a graceful sense of flow. Her practiced hands weave waves of fibrous materials to create bold, stable forms evocative in colour, shape, and texture of the multifaceted natural elements that are her constant inspiration.

Artist Profile

Damon Dowbak

Barefoot and grounded outdoors in the boreal forest, Damon Dowbak makes sweeping full-body movements with his huge brush on canvas. Water plus pigment equals paint. Texture and flow mirror the artist’s meditation on “how the water moves across the Earth.” He is translating his personal connection to the land and waters through the medium of paint in a moving meditation supported by years of experience in art and business. Damon contributed immensely to the community of Thunder Bay through his storefront Kleewyck Stained Glass Studio for over 40 years. His accomplishments include public and private commissions throughout Canada and internationally. Damon’s large works for madaabii recognize the times we are in, expressing transition through the shifting colours of cyclical seasonal changes.

As an established and prolific multidisciplinary artist with works in public and private collections, Damon fuses paint, photography, stained glass and other glasswork, drawing, sculpture, graphic arts and music. His work for the madaabii Project draws on his connection to the land, to light and water, and to the transitions he lives with in Kaministiquia, ON. Damon communicates his impressions to the viewer with the essence of joy and peace. He writes, “Through meditation on the natural world the process of creating becomes a source of calm and rejuvenation.”

Artist Profile

Sam Shahsahabi

Layers, reflection, and the sacred geometry of the circle inspire Sam Shahsahabi’s interpretation of madaabii. His materials and process are themselves multi-layered, involving copper (chosen for its multiple healing properties) with enamel paint on the upper segment and encaustic on wood, beeswax, and pigment in the “reflection”. The artist explores his relationship with the water, the land, and the place he now lives, combining his new learning with his Iranian roots.

Sam is an internationally trained, published, and exhibited multidisciplinary artist. His work includes immersive kinetic installations, sculpture, performance and new media. Through his art, Sam shares with us his multi-layered experiences of life and politics, hope and devastation, beauty and philosophy. Sam has taught painting and drawing at Lakehead University since 2009 and he engages enthusiastically with the wider community through public art and service.

Artist Profile

Chris Stones

Chris Stones is an established sculptor and mixed media artist, a water activity enthusiast, and a lifelong advocate for nature. Chris looks beneath the surface of modern life and brings our attention to the needs of the natural world. In his installation for the madaabii Project, Chris re-imagines the mutinous sturgeon.

A graduate of the HBFA program at Lakehead University and an MFA graduate of Waterloo University, Chris has exhibited in several Canadian museums and galleries and taught at Lakehead University as well as in the region. He continues to explore ideas inspired by the water and the natural world. Chris forms unique combinations of found objects, natural materials and sculpted elements and is also a gifted draftsperson. His large sculptural collaboration with fellow artist John Books pays homage to regional tree species on the exterior face of Thunder Bay’s City Hall.

This is one of the 200 exceptional projects funded through the Canada Council for the Arts’ New Chapter initiative. With this $35M initiative, the Council supports the creation and sharing of the arts in communities across Canada.

funding provided by