Between Two Worlds

Artist Statement:

This body of work is a visual narrative of exploration and discovery between and within the two worlds of science and art. Each print has its genesis in the anatomy of specimens preserved in the University of Alberta biology collections.

I began with observational drawings primarily of insects, fish and mammals. Initially they were analytic and focused on repeating shapes, forms, texture and line. I began to take note of similarities between seemingly- unrelated specimens. With each new work, my scientific understanding of anatomy increased, yet at the same time each one underscored how little biology I really knew.

Drawing became a meditative experience. The images describe a ‘lived’ scientific experience, as well as the imagined and unimagined world, which revealed itself in surprising ways. The print images recombine, restructure and augment layered imagery incorporating text and photography. They connect the drawings to the specimens and the specimens to each other in entirely new ways. They invite the viewer to ponder the art and the science in a beetle, or a fish, or a bone. Science is art, and art is science.

The human hand is quintessentially human – both a human characteristic and a symbol of what we might attain, yet it has commonality with the fin of a fish and the wing of a fly. The images are visual cues to the connections between humans and other creatures. We are not separate – in studying these collections, we study ourselves.

What lies beyond the black boundary of the lens? What new connection is there, just waiting to be uncovered? It seems restricted, but the black is unbounded, unknown, unconsidered and teases out curiosity and epiphanies. What may we learn about ourselves by looking beyond our focus into the darkness? It is an invitation to linger over both the art and the science, seeking some understanding of the beauty and complexity of this interconnected world in which we live.

“On this bridge, we are in no hurry to cross over; in fact, such bridges lure us to linger.” – Ted Aoki

Opening Reception: March 24 at 7:00 pm.