Climate crisis and disposable culture are the themes of two new art exhibitions coming to the Richmond Art Gallery.
Speak No (emergency) and Dear Plastic open on Jan. 18 and run until Mar. 13 with both exhibitions exploring the relationship between art and the environment.
Persimmon Blackbridge's Speak No (emergency) exhibit features 150 handmade, doll-sized sculptures inspired by incidents like the 2021 Lytton wildfire and the early 2000s mountain pine beetle epidemic, which decimated forests across B.C. and Alberta.
The sculptures are created from discarded materials collected from the shores of Hornby Island and her local recycling depot, including pop cans, bird skulls, barbie doll parts and scrap metal.
Blackbridge's artworks connect climate denial to the impact of the climate crisis on marginalized communities.
In addition, the art gallery commissioned Blackbridge to create a new "touchable artwork" titled Fire (fighters) in the gallery's art lounge.
Meanwhile, Dear Plastic is a group exhibition focusing on how plastics have become an inescapable part of our everyday reality.
The featured artists — Ari Bayuaji, Emily Hermant, Caroline Monnet, Alex Tedlie-Stursberg, and Cheryl Wong — use various found or ready-made plastics in their artworks.
Highlight works include Bayuaji's Weaving The Ocean in the form of tapestries made from plastic ropes washed ashore on the island of Bali, as well as Wong's art using iconic red, white and blue nylon bags symbolizing migration, labour and social class in Hong Kong.
“The artists in both exhibitions present works that expose the entanglements among the natural world, consumer culture, climate catastrophe, and personal identity,” said Shaun Dacey, director of Richmond Art Gallery.
“Each thoughtfully upcycles or reclaims found materials to craft intricate and provocative installations.”
The gallery will also hold an online talk forum with Blackbridge and a curator tour in both English and Mandarin.
For more information, click here.
📣 Got an opinion on this story or any others in Richmond? Send us a letter or email your thoughts or story tips to [email protected].
📲 To stay updated on Richmond news, sign up for our daily headline newsletter.
💬 Words missing in article? Your adblocker might be preventing hyperlinked text from appearing.
