Timber, Lumber, Wood, Home - Exhibition Tour close Fern Helfand creates an observation point for viewers to contemplate how our environment, our society, and our very identity is being modified by resource use. Her work records the way we clear the land, build our homes, choose our materials, and shelter ourselves. It pushes the boundaries of photography beyond straight documentary images by merging multiple photographs and videos into composite creations. Printed and projected on a large scale, they more effectively convey the experience of place or event than what could be achieved through a single image, capturing a deeper sense of time and place. Entering the Reid Gallery, a full wall video projection of a Boundary skyscape sets the tone. Change is constant and inevitable, clouds form and disperse in an accelerated timeframe, set against recognizable mountaintops. On opposite walls, a gigantic three-dimensional panorama of a log pile ready for transport faces a series of large format photographs taken locally at the Grand Forks Interfor sawmill and Son Ranch. These depictions show the process of resource extraction and material fabrication, lingering on the details and highlighting the specificity of the process. Images of stacked lumber, log piles, industrial equipment, and sawmills bring a sense of curiosity and wonder to the sometimes conflicting paradigms of economic necessity, environmental stewardship, and community identity. Simultaneously honouring the importance of the lumber industry and questioning the ecological costs, Timber, Lumber, Wood, Home presents an unflinching and nuanced portrait of a regional economy influenced by global trends. Galleries West Exhibition Review Preview Feature Editorial
See a collections management project in action! In the nearly 40 year since its inception, Gallery 2 has developed a regionally significant collection of approximately 300 artworks. While only a fraction of these have been exhibited, that is about to change. In 2021, Gallery 2 is embarking on an extensive collection management project which includes installing rolling art racks and inaugurating a dedicated gallery for Permanent Collection exhibitions. In conjunction with capital funding from the BC Arts Council, we are installing industry standard lateral rolling art racks and flat file drawers to better store and maintain the Gallery 2 Permanent Collection. Over the next few months, we will be temporarily relocating the collection to the Fogg Gallery. This vital collections management work will form a baseline for future Permanent Collection exhibitions. This project will provide an opportunity to showcase different artworks as we move, catalogue, and document the Permanent Collection. The Fogg Gallery will serve as a dynamic and evolving workspace over the next several months. Depending on when you visit Gallery 2, what is on display will change. As we are better able to store and care for the work, we will be increasingly able to shift our focus to interpreting, exhibiting, and eventually adding to the Gallery 2 Permanent Collection.