Art, regardless of its size, colour and materials used, is a form of expression. More importantly, it’s also culturally vital to preserving our collective heritage.
Throughout August, the Visual Arts Studio Association (VASA) showcases two art forms that veer away from the traditional, yet interpret past history in a contemporary fashion.
St. Albert visual artist Eunju Park hopes to uplift viewers in How Are You? The exhibition is a series of 30 abstract letter collages using Hanji, a traditional Korean paper. Her aim is to “share messages of self-love, resilience and personal growth.”
Unnatural Order is created by the environmentally conscious Dustin Coulson. He is a mixed media sculpture artist who uses organic materials to connect with nature and reflect its beauty. This 17-piece exhibit focuses on the smooth nature of birch bark coupled with man-made metals to tell various stories.
Although the artists focus on diverse issues and use very different materials to convey a message, they both aim to deepen understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
Eunju Park
Park says creating art was never a large part of her life until her father committed suicide nine years ago.
“My kids were very young. I didn’t have time to grieve. I become depressed," she said. "One day I started listening to BTS, the K-Pop band. I fell in love with them, not because they were handsome. But because they were saying things like ‘You are O.K. You are worth it.’
"I was comforted by their songs. They were always asking ‘What is your dream?”
Living with depression was emotionally devastating and Park no longer desired to live in that state. Remembering the joy she felt painting with her young children, she bought a paint by numbers set.
“Every night after the kids went to bed, I would spend one or two hours painting.”
Park also noted BTS’s dance moves fuse both traditional with hip hop styles and she took inspiration from their choices.
“I decided to use Hanji, paper made from mulberry trees," she said. "You use the branches to make paper. You don’t kill the tree. I bought paper and studied drawing. I am not good at creating, but I am good at copying.
While I draw, I listen to music. The positive lyrics changed my life, and I wanted to post positive messages of love, hope and dreams in my art.”
At first glance, Park’s art appears as boldly coloured geometric shapes. Upon closer inspection, positive letters and characters of encouragement are scattered throughout the pieces.
“I want people to feel good about themselves.”
Dustin Coulson
Coulson instead grew up in the hamlet of Sangudo within Lac Ste. Anne County. His family owned 10 acres near the Pembina River. In his younger days, Coulson spent long hours tramping outside collecting insects, coal, petrified wood and other gifts from nature.
A former MacEwan University student, he’d studied illustration and graphic art. But by 2014, he was ready to try something different outside the digital world.
“I wanted to work with my hands, and I went back to the bush to things that made me happy,” Coulson said.
As a teenager trying to discover his identity, the artist favoured a Goth image with long black hair and black eyeliner. But living in a homogeneous community had its challenges.
“My dad grew up on the trapline," said Coulson. "He would always say if life was too big, go out in the forest and you will see how little our problems are and how big the world can be.”
The sculptor followed his father's advice. Currently, Coulson owns an acreage at Alberta Beach filled with bush where he can collect materials for his art. Birch bark is one of his favoured materials.
“Birch bark is affected by environmental change. I see swaths of groves dried out by changes in weather," he said.
"Birch represents the environment. It will be damaged by us. But it has a duality. It is both strong and fragile in its own way.”
When asked what people take from his exhibition, he replies: “If anything, I hope people will take a moment and pause, and contemplate our relationship with the natural world and shift the conversation.”
