This year's travelling exhibition at Two Rivers Gallery is Up Around The Bend, by Prince George artist Emily Wilson.
It will be presented at Mackenzie Community Arts Centre, Valemount and Area Museum, and Valley Museum & Archives in McBride, with an opening reception at 6 p.m. June 10 at Mackenzie, where it will run until July 10. Opening dates for the other two locations will be announced later.
Wilson said Up Around the Bend came from trips along Highway 16 over many years living and working in northwestern B.C. The result is a series of paintings that tell the story of life in the region and include images from majestic mountain peaks to the rustic service stations.
"Using the road as both a narrative tool and a metaphor for the boundary between nature and human industry. Wilson captures the character of Northwestern British Columbia in a way that allows us to see it in a new light," states a press release from Two Rivers Gallery. "This work challenges the long tradition of representing the Canadian landscape as pristine, untouched wilderness. By including both the picturesque and the gritty realities of the region, Wilson captures the North with thoughtful observation and a sense of humour. It feels familiar to those who live here and is a candid introduction for those who don’t."
Wilson lives and works on Lheidli T’enneh territory and holds a Certificate of Visual Arts from Vancouver Island School of Art and a bachelor’s degree in Cognitive Science and History from McGill University.
