Project Room Studio / Gillian Turner / WATER AND SHELTER
During her Project Room Studio at CVAG, Gillian Turner is developing a body of work for the upcoming exhibition Hold Being Held at the Comox Valley Art Gallery June 27 – September 7 2019.
Water that is safe to drink. Water to bathe in without risk of infection. Shelter providing protection and warmth. For much of my life, I have been fortunate to have had easy access to all of these. For many, these necessities are unaffordable luxuries. In February 2019, the CBC televised a short documentary on the peoples of Garden Hill, Manitoba, drawing attention to the 180 families residing there without potable water or electricity. My own community of Fanny Bay, Vancouver Island, has been on a boil water advisory since last December. With consideration of increased awareness towards the effects of climate change, population growth, and future worldwide potable water shortages, I am making small scale ceramic water cisterns and houses. It is my intention to build 180 of each, for installation during the Comox Valley Art Gallery group exhibition, Container/Contained. It is my wish that eventually all Canadian peoples, and all fellow earth dwellers, will have clean, safe water sources and humane safe shelter within which to live. By creating these objects, the intentions and hopes from within my heart and mind materialize and have presence within the tangible realm. Potential for good within myself connects to the potential and abilities of the materials, encouraging internal reflection and potential dialogue for an observer. My small ceramic forms are made of clay and are fired using atmospheric firing methods, with the intention that the naturally occurring decoration will provide a strong connection of the man-made vessels to the natural world. I am grateful. – Gillian Turner