TRICIA WASNEY + RICHARD DYCK IN RESIDENCE AT THE MCLOUGHLIN GARDENS
Each summer, the Comox Valley Art Gallery holds a curated residency program to support the creative practices of artists participating in ongoing convergent programming at the gallery. The McLoughlin Gardens Society collaborates with CVAG by making the McLoughlin Gardens seaside artist residence available for the gallery to house its visiting artists. This summer, Tricia Wasney and Richard Dyck are in residence together.
I am a prairie girl and the thought of spending three weeks at the sea is bewitching. My artwork takes it’s lead from the land it finds itself in. I will explore all around me to research a work specific to the Comox Valley. I know the residency will have a powerful impact on my art practice.
– Tricia Wasney
“Millions and Millions” by Tricia Wasney. Image courtesy of the artist.
TRICIA WASNEY BIOGRAPHY
My work is informed by landscape, geography, cartography, scientific research, and forgotten or hidden histories. My studies in landscape architecture, literature and film impact my artwork, telling stories and investigating ideas through narrative jewellery and craft practices, metallurgy, and incorporation of recycled materials. I explore hidden histories through detritus left behind — in city streets, thrift stores, in quarries, on beaches, in wilderness, everywhere – and use these elements from the past to re-imagine histories through contemporary projects. I have participated in residencies in Northern Ireland, Riding Mountain National Park and Churchill, Manitoba and know the incredible opportunity presented by situating myself in a new environment. My visual work has been exhibited in Canadian and European galleries. I am also a writer and the same themes run through. My written work has been published in several journals and most recently in the collaborative book created with Doug Melnyk entitled KITTY GIRL.
RICHARD DYCK BIOGRAPHY
Digital artist Richard Dyck explores the uncertainty of knowledge, drawing on human limitations and biased cognitive processes. He creates interactive experiences using apps, games, and unconventional hardware manipulation. His work challenges notions of intellectual certainty, and suggests practicality and biological necessity/limitations filter everything for a species’ survival.
Richard Dyck is an informally-taught digital artist with a background in literature, psychology, and religion. His work garnered support from the Winnipeg Arts Council, the Manitoba Arts Council, and the Canada Council for the Arts. Richard has collaborated with artists such as Aganetha Dyck, William Eakin, and Reva Stone. His work made in collaboration with Aganetha Dyck, is in the Canada Council Art Bank, and the National Gallery of Canada. His work has exhibited in artist-run centres and major galleries locally, nationally, and internationally.
The McLoughlin Gardens Society
IMAGE: “Township” by Tricia Wasney. Image courtesy of the artist.