The Arts Council of New Westminster presents:
“Satellite Fabulations: Speculative Topographies in the Anthropocene”
by New Westminster artists Danielle Bobier
April 6 – 30th, 2016
Main floor of The Gallery at Queen’s Park
Wednesday 1 – 8pm, Thursday – Sunday 1 – 5pm
Opening Reception: Wednesday April 6, 6 – 8pm
Artist Statement
I am an interdisciplinary artist who works primarily in the field of print media and painting. With a deep interest in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, I am attracted to scientific maps and satellite images as a means of exploration. By looking at these images, I can envision myself on the ground and locate myself as an observer and an explorer. Through the lens of the Anthropocene (the critical geologic epoch in which human action has resulted in significant alterations the planet), I seek to understand the bigger picture through a place’s topography. The topography of a place is at once rooted in the natural and concrete world, but also exists as an aesthetic abstraction that can be read subjectively by the viewer. To me, this sort of multistability inflicts an inherently human, emotional component upon the work.
My process involves the intake of visual and theoretical information from the natural sciences, as well as the surface processes of geomorphology and the effects of human intervention upon the landscape. Additionally, I have a keen interest in states of matter and how they interact on different temporospatial scales.
Since 2013, I have been developing a series of works based on digitally collaged and altered public domain satellite imagery to create fabulated landscapes – places that do not physically exist, but can be read as if they do. Recently, I have expanded the topographic aesthetic into the fields of painting and sculpture, where material manipulation allows for a more immediate response than with traditional printmaking methods. Together, the different mediums encompass technological, human, and material experience.
The title of this exhibition, Satellite Fabulations, is partially appropriated from Donna Haraway’s “SF, Speculative Fabulation and String Figures” where she mathematically and theoretically delineates a notyetexisting world titled Terrapolis. I chose to adopt the use of the word “fabulation” as the works in this show investigate speculative and chimeric topographies.
Artist Bio
Danielle Bobier was born in New Westminster, BC, in 1985. She lives cooperatively in New Westminster and splits her studio workspace between the Royal City and Vancouver. Previously, she received the Fine Arts Diploma from Langara College where she was awarded the 2012 Painting Studio Award. She is currently completing her Bachelor of Fine Arts (Visual Arts) at Emily Carr University and is set to graduate in May 2016. Her work can be found in the Langara College Permanent Collection, the Wayfinding: Art for Patients with Dementia Research Collection in conjunction with UBC school of Nursing, and in private collections internationally.
C/V
EDUCATION
2016
Bachelor of Fine Arts (Visual Arts) – Expected
Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Vancouver, BC, CA
2013
Fine Arts Diploma
Langara College, Vancouver, BC, CA
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2016
The Show
Annual Juried Group Exhibition of graduating works
Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Vancouver, BC, CA
Satellite Fabulations: Speculative Topographies in the Anthropocene
Solo Exhibition, juried by the Arts Council of New Westminster
The Gallery at Queen’s Park, New Westminster, BC, CA
FENCE EVENT
Collaborative Group Exhibition, no curator
The Concourse Gallery, Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Vancouver, BC, CA
2015
Print: Crossing Pathways
Group Exhibition curated by Jonathon Hodges and Jeffrey Wynne
The Concourse Gallery, Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Vancouver, BC, CA
Pistachio Tree
Group Exhibition curated by Cass Elliot
Tag Gallery, Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Vancouver, BC, CA
2014
…increases the divide
Two-Person Show with Karin Vengshoel
Britannia Art Gallery, Vancouver, BC, CA
2013
Wayfinding: Art for Patients with Dementia
Group Exhibition
Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Vancouver, BC, CA
Raw Expressions: Nothing and No One is Perfect
Group Exhibition and Performance
One Thousand Rivers, Vancouver, BC, CA
42nd Annual Fine Arts Student Exhibition
Group Exhibition
Langara College, Vancouver, BC, CA
Art from the Heart: A Benefit for PACE Society
Group Exhibition
One Thousand Rivers, Vancouver, BC, CA
2012
41st Annual Fine Arts Student Exhibition
Group Exhibition
Langara College, Vancouver, BC, CA
Resiliency
Group Exhibition
One Thousand Rivers, Vancouver, BC, CA
2011
Drawing
Group Exhibition
Buffalo Lounge, Langara College, Vancouver, BC, CA
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2016
Live Painting Demonstration
ROYAL FLUSH: Let’s go all in for the Arts! A Fundraiser for the Arts Council of New Westminster
Match Eatery, New Westminster, BC, CA
2015
Security and Sales
Student Art Sale
Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Vancouver, BC, CA
Participant
Iowa State University International Postcard Print Exchange
Ames, IA, US
Guest Speaker and Student Representative
Officiation and Signing Ceremony of Transfer Agreement between Emily Carr University of Art + Design and Langara College
Langara College, Vancouver, BC, CA
Artisan Kiosk
River Market, New Westminster, BC, CA
2014
Individual Drawing Lessons Instructor
New Westminster, BC, CA
2013
Gothic Literature Field Studies, Langara College Study Abroad Program
London, Whitby, Manchester, Edinburgh, UK
2012
Representative for Creative Arts at Langara College
Circle Craft Fair, Vancouver Convention Centre, Vancouver, BC, CA
Art History Field Studies, Langara College Study Abroad Program
Florence, Rome, Italy
Construction Assistant
Nothing Blank Forever by Samuel Roy-Bois
Vancouver, BC, CA
ART RELATED EMPLOYMENT
2015-16
Grumbacher Certified Fine Arts Instructor
Michaels Arts & Crafts, Vancouver, BC, CA
2015-16
Print Studio Monitor
Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Vancouver, BC, CA
2011-16
Certified Custom Framing Expert
Michaels Arts & Crafts, Vancouver, BC, CA
2013
Print Studio Assistant
Langara College, Vancouver, BC, CA
PUBLICATIONS + CATALOGUES
2014
“Melancholia: A View” and “The View from Melancholia”, two artworks
Woo Publication, Winter 2014, p. 42
Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Vancouver, BC, CA
2012
2012 Fine Arts Catalogue, one artwork
Langara College, Vancouver, BC, CA
COLLECTIONS
Langara College Permanent Collection
Vancouver, BC, CA
Wayfinding: Art for Patients with Dementia
Temporary Research Collection, Emily Carr University in collaboration with University of British Columbia School of Nursing
Surrey, BC, CA
Private collections internationally
MEMBERSHIPS
Arts Council of New Westminster, New Westminster, BC, CA
Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, BC, CA
AWARDS
2015
British Columbia Arts Council Scholarship Award
2012
Painting Studio Award, Presented by Langara College and Tenline
Studios, Vancouver, BC, CA
Exhibition Preview
