1080 Keewatin St,
Thunder Bay, ON, P7B 6T7

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ARTIST STATEMENTS

Taylor Anderson

Growing up with radio playing in the background, Taylor Anderson found a love for media through her father’s career in Radio. Being surrounded by broadcasting led to Taylor’s interest in current affairs. Reflecting on these headlines, she relates her inner emotions to what is happening around her through a variety of art forms.

Taylor is currently in her fourth year of the Honours Bachelor of Fine Arts program at Lakehead University, majoring in painting and ceramics. Her mixed media paintings include a wide range of recycled materials. The subject of her paintings and ceramics explore some of the socio-political challenges that were felt during the pandemic. Her ceramic creations stem from similar topics, but focus more on her self-reflection and dreams while navigating the Covid-19 pandemic. Resulting in her emotions and reactions taking a three-dimensional form.

In 2019, Taylor was awarded the Picture Frame Award for her linocut print, Water Lillies, 2018. And in 2021, she was awarded the Tucker Supply House Award for her ceramic piece, Insecurities, 2020.

Keeping Myself Accountable

Taylor Anderson

Ceramic stoneware cone 10 reduction,

30 cm x 40 cm

 

Only one Google search

Just to see

A “List of Global Issues”

put so elegantly

 

 

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The Whole Idea of a Beach

Taylor Anderson

Mixed media collage on canvas,

91 cm x 91 cm

 

Nathan Cross

My artwork is an exploration of life over the past few years and draws from recent experiences of dealing with mental illness and addiction. These are very important topics and close to my heart because of the growing number of people becoming affected around me and the devastation seen and experienced from the continued loss of life.

Addiction and mental illness have plagued my family and friends, and affected my view of the world. More importantly, experiencing the effects has reshaped the way I perceive those struggling. I understand the stigmatizing effects of both disorders and want to show the humanness of those affected. To convey that those suffering from addiction need compassion and understanding, help and not judgment.

I believe in art as an effective means for communication and expression. It has the ability to connect people through a shared experience. I have been working with clay, plaster, wood and steel. Materials that I can shape, form, and colour together to express ideas about my experiences.

 

Monkey Mind,

Nathan Cross

Stained ceramic,

87cm x 198cm x 50cm

Brielle Daoust

As an artist, I create my work because I want to investigate what it means to be a conscious being. It is essentially my way of processing it by questioning, deciphering, and then translating into something tangible. I want to create something tangible out of these questions because they allow me to process it in a new light thus sometimes giving me answers.

I use surrealism to decipher these retrospective questions. This allows me to create a version of reality where you can position yourself in the scene but you can also tell that you are actually somewhere else metaphysically. In my work, the metaphysical place is the human conscience and is shown as landscapes that are specific in their rendering, but general enough to be relatable. The landscapes are transportational, hinting at an emotional state. It’s like deciphering a dream where the events are familiar but out of sequence. I want to capture that state of mind and the compelling urge to decipher a message.

The introspective nature of my work is somewhat confessional. I’m putting my deepest thoughts on the canvas for anyone to see, to relate or to question. I also chose to incorporate blank silhouettes to place myself in the canvas and to allow people to see themselves in the environments. They are also vessels for these questions as they sometimes have hints as to what I’m questioning in them.

 

Running Towards the Unknown

Brielle Daoust

Absorbent ground, acrylic and oil sticks on canvas,

78 cm x 1.02 m

Gerald Kelly

My path and subject matter have transformed over time, but my process remains the same. My approach to painting is intuitive and about letting things happen along the way. I believe that creativity cannot be switched on and off. When finding myself resisting the next creative move in an ongoing project, I’ve learned to step back and focus on an idea which would suit my current mindset. I find the medium influencing me from the very beginning, guiding me to make impulsive actions then responding to the balance between the overall composition. I find fluid gestural painting the starting point or finishing point when creating, an act that is distinctive and unique. Once I’m challenged with the push and pull of design elements, I attempt to resolve and balance my paintings giving more clarity to the composition. I want to achieve a sense of openness in my work and be absorbed visually into the space of the canvas through color and abstraction.

Untitled,

Gerald Kelly,

Oil stick, oil pen, oil paint and spray paint on canvas.

91.44 cm x 91.44 cm

Hanna Marion

I grew up on my family’s large off-grid property outside of Thunder Bay, spending my childhood exploring the surrounding nature. For as long as I can remember I’ve been fascinated with elements of nature such as the light shimmering through trees, the sparkle of melting snow, and the bright pops of colour from the wildflowers. Growing up in this ever-changing northern landscape taught me to embrace change; the earth is alive and we are just along for the ride.

I first began documenting my surroundings using photography and often use my photos as a starting point for my work, choosing ones that spark the strongest memories. By balancing visual representation with creative and expressive mark-making, I create enhanced environments that communicate the essence of the natural world. My process starts with an intuitive-based approach, blocking in shapes and colour freely and expressively before building layers of detail. As I navigate a painting, I intentionally allow these expressive layers to show through, adding just enough detail to represent the environment while maintaining a painterly, dream-like quality. Trusting the process is a big part of my practice and working through a painting feels like exploring.It’s more fun when it’s not planned.  

My practice reflects the feelings of freedom and adventure I felt exploring nature as a child. The forest around my home was my playground, and my work serves as a way for me to honor my connection to the place I grew up. I truly believe there is so much to gain from the natural world and I hope to encourage viewers to reflect on their own personal experiences in nature. 

 

Going Downstairs to Sauna,

Hanna Marion,

Acrylic on canvas,

Brynn Monteith

Growing up in a rural part of Thunder Bay Ontario, I am always surrounded by nature. I never thought about art as a potential career until my grandmother started her own doing what she loved. She created beautiful landscape paintings of beaches and forests she had been too; inspiring me to explore my own art passions with nature.

Through my four years in the visual arts program at Lakehead University, my interests transitioned from painting into a three-dimensional approach through ceramics, and sculpture. Although both have the same theme using different nature aspects, I bring two different ideas forward. My ideas in ceramics stem from my Scottish heritage, focusing on the tails and mysteries that brings tourists and even Scotland’s own people, to explore its history throughout the many castles, lakes, and mountains. 

On the other hand, my sculptural ideas incorporate strong and heavy materials such as: multiple types of wire and plaster, while using soft subjects to express the internal struggles people close to me may have with their health. Sculpturally my work brings awareness to the many diseases and disabilities many people unfortunately experience throughout their lifetime. The experiences may be different and difficult but through one person sharing their story, it inspires someone else to accept and live through theirs.

Quaking Aspen,

Brynn Monteith,

Aluminum wire, jewelry rings, hydrocal plaster,

43cm x 53cm x 38cm

Christopher Rantala

I am fascinated with things such as old buildings, machinery, and the nature around us.  Much of my art and ideas were inherited and encouraged by my parents at an early age and has stayed with me all my life.  I try to impart through painting and sculpture the cross-connecting themes of the past, the environment, and the nature of change throughout time whether by accident or design.   

The paintings reflect my interest in the history, decay, and the enduring character of old buildings that have succumbed to decay and neglect.  I desired to make these works come out in three dimensions to give a perception of reality with interesting shapes and angles these structures possess as well as surface texture.  I try to celebrate the history of each building as it once held an important role as a central hub for both community and culture. 

The kinetic sculptures, or automata, come from my fascination with old machinery, hand-made toys and wood carving, and telling a story through art and motion. Participation with the work by making it move and change makes it fun and engaging and brings you into the narrative. I produced them in an antique folk-art style in order to give a sense of a bygone era but addressing current environmental issues affecting wildlife in the present and the future.   

Every piece I create presents a challenge in its construction, either in its composition or engineering. I get great satisfaction in exploring new ideas and achieving solutions throughout the learning experience. I try to evoke thought and reflection but also what inspires me to create art.

 

Coelacanth: Fossil Returneth,

Christopher Rantala,

Wood and metal automata,

120cm x 83 cm x 32cm

Woodside Bros. Building, Christopher Rantala

Selected as People’s Choice Award

Katie Untinen

Human & Nature – A Resilient Cycle

There is a complex relationship within the interactions between humans and nature, and as humans, we are nature’s audience; passive viewers accepting the impact of natural disasters. This relationship is a careful and reciprocal balancing act, and our extravagance and greed are disrupting this harmony, causing irrefutable harm and in some cases, irreversible damage. Despite our interference, nature still finds ways to resiliently fight back, place roots and start anew. My practice is concerned with depicting this tension between humans and nature, creating landscapes that at once show the power and vulnerability of nature at our hands.

Material items that hold our memories—humanity’s inventions, keepsakes and technologies—once owned entirely by us, are destroyed by our own neglect and left to the earth. As we abandon our possessions over time, forgetting or denying their value, the earth reclaims them with moss, roots and trees. Despite our negligence and ignorance, nature still adapts to welcome and support us. Our earth is now scarred by human interaction; altered and different, but still beautiful. 

Though one may see human neglect, perhaps we are seeing nature’s resiliency, but this resiliency is not limitless. Despite feeling frozen by the media and helpless in the face of our changing climate, our actions could still be within our control. We must act with empathy each day and take small steps to care for the environment as it cares for us. Not only should we take the time to reflect on how we impact nature, but we should be cognizant of how nature impacts us. We are all related and coexist; we are human and non-human, things and not-yet-things, and we live in the past, present and an unwritten future.

 

 

Human and Nature – A Resilient Cycle – Part 2,

Katie Untinen,

Acrylic on canvas,

183cm x 125cm

Camille Vernier

Growing up, I felt isolated by some of my feelings, and guilty for not knowing about my culture. Woodland art gave me a space where I was able to connect through my passion for drawing. I create my artwork with the hope it will resonate with other Indigenous people who may not know the effects of colonization, and give them a sense of support, a sense of community, and a way to reconnect to their culture.

I use Woodland art to put my thoughts and emotions to paper, no longer bottling them up and feeling ashamed. It was not until University that I began to learn more about things like internalized oppression, double consciousness, blood quantum, and soul wounds. Learning about these topics helped me to better understand why I was feeling the way I was about myself and my culture, and how to overcome these feelings. Despite being difficult topics for me to discuss, I think it’s important to face these uncomfortable feelings in order to better understand them.

I start each drawing by deciding on the topic and background colour. I use watercolours to create a wash across the paper and add salt while the pigment is wet in order to absorb pigment and add texture to the background. I make sure to create multiple washes so I am able to choose which one best suits my sketch once it is made. Once I am happy with the sketch, I begin drawing with a pencil and then switch to a brush and ink when adding details.

 

Traditions,

Camille Vernier

Acrylic on Plaster,

68 cm x 72 cm x 45 can