Exhibit/Canada

The Conversation - A Sea Change

Haida Gwaii Museum Gallery

Aug. 2021- Dec.24, 2021

The Conversation - A Sea Change. An exhibition by Dorothy Spencer

Dory Spencer

The Conversation - In Clay

A Sea Change

I use stoneware clay and porcelain, sometimes combining both into a single sculpture. 

My process can include using the tools of the potters wheel, plaster casting, hand building, sculpting and added layers of repetitive imagery. Sometimes I refire many times and erase the original form. 

I explore disintegration, crumbling, erosion, and softened materials, the natural elements, and the wearing of time. 

In this exhibit you will see specific iconic images that I’ve seen in my travels;  church votives, lighthouse towers, and prayer shrines, representing human constructs we’ve idolized for centuries. Human constructs, and yet,  I want to add another element I personally idolize, even more so. Nature. As we watch our destruction of the natural world, I wanted to invoke the spirits of endangered species, so many that we admire, and the rarities that are showing up in the world as lecuestic.

In a studio now in Barcelona, Spain, for 6 years, and missing my island home, I surprised myself by creating a porcelain sculpture of aWhite Raven. We had one born on the islands of Haida Gwaii. In its short life, it entertained islanders, only to die electrocuted by Hydro lines, and then was mounted for display. If you Google where White Ravens live you will only find them on our west coast, and in London , England.

I wanted to bring honour to Haida Gwaii’s White Raven.

My early years on this coast as a Lighthouse Keeper, mucking about with boats, and working on ships are reflected in this exhibit. As in the use of towers representing Lighthouses, with expressions of hope, peace, and guidance for decisions to navigate the right direction. And some of them have energy chargers to empower positive changes.

My sculptures speak for themselves, each telling a story we are already familiar with.

I hope my use of clay and fire inspire the Conversation for  a sea-change in our relationship with this world.

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