fire and water

A new piece by Guest Blogger Denise Lysak.

I will start with the words of Antoine de Saint-Exupery, “A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single person contemplates it, bearing within her the image of a cathedral.” I think this is a perfectly good place to kick-start this blog titled ‘fire and water’.  

The Moving Gallery is just a tiny structure with windows, walls and wheels OR maybe, if you let yourself imagine, it is so, much more. With every artist that worked on this project – the Moving Gallery became a living, breathing exhibit and exploration around the theme of water. It was infused with original works of art: all informed by thoughts, sensibilities, care, connections, history, brush strokes, stories, photos, sketches, reflections, impulses, charisma, and courage.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The MOVING GALLERY, is a tiny mobile studio fitted with art installations: iPods with recorded podcasts, visual art pieces, interactive exhibits, chalkboard walls, mechanical flipbooks, and ‘selfie” corners – created and developed by amateur and professional artists, from Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities across Canada. The Moving Gallery travelled to fairs, farmers’ markets, festivals and forts throughout the summer of 2017, in celebration of Canada’s sesquicentennial.  

With the Moving Gallery, audiences and artists came together in a tiny space and as you took your first step in, you were submerged in the soundscape by Gerald Laroche.  Sounds of crashing waves, rain drops and the call of the loons supported an immersive experience. The tiny studio engaged audiences in a sensory experience, from hearing and seeing to touching and feeling.  

In 2020, fires have raged and continue to destroy vast swaths of land, endangering town, cities, human life, wildlife, natural and built environs. Our work as creators is to create conversations, to evoke critical thought, to challenge perceptions, and, yes, at times, to simply entertain. The installations that were part and parcel of the Moving Gallery, celebrated in part our nation’s sesquicentennial in 2017 and the larger gift of water.  And, it is in that polar opposite that moves me to discover the dichotomy of fire and water.  

 

There are words in the “cloud” that jump out at me: scorched earth, evacuate, climate fire, ash, water and life. The word cloud hints at a serene landscape – with the green of mother earth veiled by the light and airy atmosphere from above – all while taking another turn around the sun, in that idea of a year.  In our utopia, this would fairly represent planet Earth and all of its inhabitants, creatures great and small. Our world view tells a very different story and suggests a reality that is far from the idyllic imagery suggested above. How do we reconcile the two?  With art.  With art that opens windows to the world.  With art that boldy illustrates the world we live in and challenges, all of us, to imagine and build an even better one.  With art that touches our souls, heals our minds, and moves our bodies to act.  Now.

THE WHO’S WHO, MOVING GALLERY                     Artistic Curator Denise Lysak

PRIMARY CREATORS                                                      TINY STUDIO DESIGN TEAM

Nicola Cavendish | Writer                                              Erik Arnason, Eduardo Aquino, Shawn 

Wanda Easton | Photographer/ Blogger                     Bailey, Chrissy Sie-Merritt, Shawn

Gerald Laroche | Soundscape Artist                            Sinclair

Kate-Lynn Paypompee | Photographer                       Elyse Hartman | Gallery Guide

Ian Ross | Storyteller

Chrissy Sie-Merritt | Visual Artist