Traces of West Grey

Youth Group Show

April 2016

Lyjah Mellor, Tess Bainborough, Ulli Bodnar, Gabriel Sugarman, and Jaimie Bainborough.

The tension between human activities and forces of nature capture the imagination of five high school students. In a youth workshop led by artist and photographer, Sarah Tacoma, the participants were encouraged to produce work inspired by their immediate surroundings, capturing surprising elements from otherwise everyday subjects. Each student is exhibiting three works, showing the development of a visual language. A rich array of textures, lines and patterns create dynamic moments in the images of water, land and sky. Depictions of the natural environment are punctuated with the hallmarks of a constructed world - deteriorating furniture is left to the mercy of time; water foams at the base of a dam; rain, frost and dirt cling to a window; a cigarette butt floats in a puddle, and a dog stares back at us behind a fence. All of this shows that our momentary presence is always recorded by nature - even after our bodies are long gone.

Supported by the Community Foundation Grey Bruce;sponsored by Launch Pad Youth Activity and Technology Centre, Hanover, and Shelburne Kitchens.