Two photo-based artworks are now on display at Richmond Canada Line skytrain stations.
The artworks by Faune Ybarra and Jaspal Birdi are part of the Capture Photography Festival, Western Canada's largest lens-based art festival. Richmond Art Gallery and Richmond Public Art have brought the works to the Aberdeen and Lansdowne skytrain stations, where they will be displayed from now to Feb. 29, 2024.
Both Ybarra and Birdi's artworks reflect their experiences of isolation during the pandemic while highlighting "the human need for connection and belonging" during lockdowns.
"At a time when isolation meant saving lives, we turned to our closest connections to seek balance," said guest curator Maria Filipina Palad.
"For artists who were separated from their communities, this meant finding new ways of confronting the emotional consequences of prolonged separation while persisting in making art, putting into focus the creative capacity of artists to adapt and innovate."
Ybarra's art installation titled Iceberg Stranded in My Bed at Aberdeen Station features a series of four photo stills that were re-shot from her video of the same title.
The work is a reflection of "her feelings of displacement" while adapting to different landscapes of where she has lived.
The display at Lansdowne Station features Birdi's work titled 11h02m, which is consisted of an iPhone photo of clouds moving across the sky that is enlarged and re-printed in pieces onto a metallic rescue blanket using a modified laser printer.
Birdi felt a "sense of helplessness and longing" during her residency in Milan and her artwork shares a message of "community belonging" and a belief that the world can move on from a crisis together.
The artists, along with Palad, will be hosting two walking tours of the works on April 23 and June 3 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. To register and find out more about the events, check out RAG's events page.
