Atlantic Vernacular:Poetry in Motion:

I was one of 30 artists chosen nationally to represent the fine crafts of the Atlantic Provinces in this exhibition (originally destined to tour five galleries, but COVID pivot to virtual). Each of us were paired with a poet. I was thrilled to work with Emilie Turmel, who lives in Moncton. We had a lively, fluid “Franglais” dialogue that went to deep places and places of whimsy. Emilie wrote her poem in French - and it has been translated. I’m honoured to have the soul of my work captured in this medium.

Read the poem in English or French here. Listen to the poem in French here.

Curator’s Statement:

Engaged and contemporary craft derived from this region offers more than just the lobsters and lighthouses that so frequently stand in as representative of cultural identity here. Our heritages vary from settler to Indigenous, and the influence of newcomers brings a richness of experiences that continue to evolve what it means make work of this region. Artists here often metaphorically and literally interweave elements of the local environment into their practices, reflecting strong affinities with our shared ecology. We look to the ocean, the forests, our scrappy cities, and climactic extremes as the raw material for creating works.

— Gillian Dykeman, Atlantic Vernacular Exhibition Curator

The colours of origin

A poem based on Spaces Within by Heidi McKenzie

 

From what porcelain 

which clay which glaze

from what mud are we made

the stroke of origins

 

With which voices are we

the echo the geometrical belonging 

in which landscape the noisiness

the fogginess the truncated island 

which borders 

what marbling 

what love our skins

are they the drumming 

 

With which memories

do our hands and mouths 

shape the space 

the one given to us

the one we need 

returned or regained or

held in the hollow of our palms 

 

From which throw of the dice

are we the heiresses

and what colour are 

the hands of chance