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