These are photos of some of the wonderful art in Tree of Life at Lipont Place in Richmond. I went to see it last weekend and left feeling super excited and inspired by all of the incredible work. It’s a traveling show predominantly featuring textile art by fifty-eight master artists from twenty Asian countries.

From the Lipont Place website:

The Tree of Life is an archetype, theme, motif, image, spiritual concept and mythological story that is found across cultures and throughout human history. It is understood to connect all forms of creation and is a cosmic conception that embodies life’s mysteries, unites the heavens, the earth, and the underworld, and is seen as a representation of everlasting life. Its various interpretations from indigenous cultures and major religions have influenced art, architecture, and visual representation for millennia.

This international exhibition explores the ways in which the Tree of Life has been represented in 20 countries across Central, South, East, and South-east Asia and includes the artwork of 58 artists and craftspeople, many of whom are masters of their chosen form and some who are Living National Treasures in their countries of origin. The artworks are as diverse as the cultures they originate from and are both traditional and contemporary. They are handcrafted from natural and sustainable materials, and include textiles, paintings, ceramics, weaving, leather, lacquer ware, jewellery, stone, wood, and metal.

The show continues until Tuesday October 10th. Read more about it on the Lipont Place website.

I attended a lecture by Mo Kelman at the beginning of September as part of Maiwa School of Textiles fall schedule, when they bring in a new round of out of town speakers to teach and talk. Kelman is an interesting choice for Maiwa because while she does use textiles in her work, her approach is non-traditional and not at all functional.

I went back a week later to view her show at the Silkweaving Studio on Granville Island.

It was great to see her work in person so soon after the talk because photos don’t quite do justice to them. I loved these amazing sculptures that use bamboo structures, nails, thread, fabric, and sometimes sausage casing (!) to create abstract organic forms stretched across the wall. The shadows cast by the forms were an import element to the work as well, but maybe it’s because I love a good shadow.

Unfortunately, you can’t go see the show yourself because it closed on the weekend but you can check out more work on Mo Kelman’s website.

Uninterrupted is a stunning video installation that has been playing under the Yaletown side of the Cambie Street Bridge all summer, in Cooper’s Park. I saw it for the second time last night with friends.

The 25 minute video is mapped to the pillars and underside of the bridge, and follows the migration of Pacific Salmon from beginning until their sad end. The image above shows the projector doing a mapping test before the performance started, which was pretty interesting.

I shot a few stills during the performance but mostly I wanted to enjoy it without a camera in the way. The imagery begins and ends in a cityscape but is mostly water and salmon at different stages of their lives. It’s awe inspiring and magical.

Performances of Uninterrupted continue until September 24th, and the start time is currently at 9pm. This may shift as it gets later in the year and the sunsets earlier. I recommend taking a blanket and small pillow because it’s best viewed while lying down.