On view August 5, 2022 - November 13, 2022
Nature is a source of guidance and comfort in the ongoing process of assessing our value and importance in society. This relationship was especially heightened for some during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Reflection Across the Shore is the result of two artists’ documentation and observations during this time. Here, Edward Fu-Chen Juan and Wang Yu-Wen share the emergence of their thoughts on what to keep and what to leave behind in a changing world.
Over the past two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has prevented us from travelling and connecting physically with our community. As we emerge from these restrictions, we are engaging with the process of observing and documenting our personal losses and gains. From Taiwan and Canada, across the Pacific Ocean from one another, we share the practice of seeking comfort and guidance from nature while doing so.
Highlight Video
French Caption
In Reflection Across the Shore - Micro-exposition
La nature nous oriente et nous réconforte dans le processus continu d’évaluation de notre valeur et de notre importance dans la société. Pour certains, cette relation a été particulièrement amplifiée pendant la pandémie de COVID-19.
Cette exposition est le résultat du travail de documentation et des observations de deux artistes durant cette période.
@edjuandraws et @wangyuwen0815 partagent l’émergence de leurs réflexions sur ce qu’il faut garder et ce qu’il faut laisser derrière soi dans un monde en mutation.
Wang Yu-wen was born and raised in Taipei, Taiwan and graduated with an MFA from the National Taipei University of Art. Yu-Wen settled in Taitung after finishing a residency at the Taitung Railway Art Village.
In Taitung, Yu-Wen is surrounded by the beauty of the mountains and is nourished by the Pacific Ocean. The environment has deeply affected her creative philosophy and thoughts, and her creations are closely linked to nature and self realization. Exploration of natural materials has made her very sensitive to material texture and she uses sand from the river, seeds, beeswax, and clay to create her work. In recent years, she has furthered this exploration, allowing these materials’ brittle and meltable characteristics to influence the graphic patterns in her work, developing a relationship between life and space.
Edward Fu-Chen Juan is a contemporary visual artist based in Vancouver, BC, located within the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and Sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. He identifies as a queer Taiwanese Canadian with ethnic roots from the Hakka and Plains First Nations people of Taiwan. His art practice is printmaking on paper with water-based ink extracted from plant and insect ingredients. Recently, he has expanded his process to include papermaking with unconventional fibres from culturally significant plants.
“As a queer person of colour with Indigenous ancestry, I am developing my art practice to cultivate a connection between traditional craftsmanship and contemporary issues. I am continuing my research of plant material for printmaking and papermaking techniques with the objective to create resources for ecologically sustainable art production. This concept is cultivated from my ongoing cultural exchanges with artists nationally and abroad. With each experience, I share the perspective and knowledge to create works in support of the decolonization of contemporary art spaces.”
Presented with
Supported by
Design and Curation
Jillian Povarchook, Curator
Josh Doherty, Design