Currents
Holly Fay
Estevan Art Gallery
2024
Q) What is this exhibition about?
The exhibition is about water —the wonder and power of this natural system, its phases, forms and cycles, and the hydrosphere connecting and sustaining the planet.
Q) What drew you to create a body of work focusing on water?
A principal focus of my practice is the interconnectedness of natural phenomena. Water, or more so, the hydrosphere, vividly illustrates the interconnectivity of all natural phenomena.
My preceding project examined repeating patterns in nature occurring on micro and macro scales, with a specific focus on abiotic systems—wind, light, water, and soil. Those drawings are more abstract and conceptual in approach. For Currents, I wanted to move to more discernible subject matter yet retain the abstract qualities. Representing water in phases of solid, vapour, and liquid, offered compelling possibilities for this direction.
Q) Please describe the process for creating your works. Do you plan the images in advance or work intuitively?
For the large-scale work I start with observations of the natural world, I take photos, and also collect supplementary images. This research is used to select subject matter, such as ice crystals in the winter sky. Next, I make small sketches to work out the general composition. From there I work intuitively, building the drawing through the process of layering, blending, and lifting out the powdered graphite.
The Watergraph series involves preparing paper with layers of dry and liquid media. When the prepared paper has dried, I then work outdoors to complete each piece by exposing the paper to rain, humidity, sleet, or snow for varying lengths of time. Each work is titled with the date of, and the form of, precipitation that occurred. Spanning a full calendar year, this project entailed close attention to, and interaction with, the precipitation transpiring in my backyard.
Q) Within your large-scale work, there is a recurring visual element of straight lines, both
vertical and radiating outward. What is the significance of these lines, either thematically or conceptually?
The line is pictorially placed over, within, and behind imagery as a means to break up the flat static picture plane, and to suggest the multidimensional and transitory qualities of water. As the earth’s water cycle works interdependently with the sun’s radiation, these lines also imply light and energy.
Q) What led you to use graphite as your medium of choice for these artworks?
In this series I was looking to depict subject matter without drawing hard contours, leaving the form intermediate to a degree. By using soft powdered graphite, I can blend and layer shapes together, and I can lift out areas of graphite to create images that blend and shift from positive and negative shapes—all processes that work to portray notions of flux and transition.
I aspired to have a richness and depth to the surface of the work, which layered graphite on paper can offer. I’m thinking here of how light passes through the semi-translucent layers of graphite to the paper and reflects back to the viewer’s eye, accentuating the depth. The richness of the graphite is further enhanced by light striking the soft grain of the paper at an angle. These effects are evident when the work is viewed in person, but do not reproduce well in documentation.
Q) In your exhibition statement, you mention there is a necessity for meaning gained through the acknowledgement of the natural systems that sustain. Can you expand on this, and how this is represented within the works included in the exhibition?
Scientific research is guided by the systematic collection of data, it expands knowledge and understanding. Data, though, does not always connect with people on a personal level. By offering a space of contemplation, art can help build or bring about meaningful individual connections to the natural world.
Q) How do you hope gallery visitors will interact and respond to “Currents”?
My hope is the work invites slow-looking, as well as dynamic encounters, in which visitors take a moment to consider the natural world, the wondrous beauty in its interconnectivity, and reflect on how we are part of it.
Q) What are you exploring next in your practice? Will you continue on with this particular focus or explore something new?
At present, I have an expansive series of smaller-scale works in progress. This work corresponds to the large-scale drawings in Currents in terms of content, media and processes. Additionally, I am observing/researching grassland plants, soil and light as potential new subject matter. These investigations are in the initial stages, and too early to identify the specific direction the project will take. I’m looking forward to an upcoming artist residency this spring, where I will be developing my ideas further and experimenting with media.