Darian Goldin Stahl | Lodestone

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Darian Goldin Stahl, “Expecting,” no date

(courtesy of the Artist)

Opening Reception: Friday, April 19 from 7-9pm (artist talk will begin after 7pm)

Lodestone exhibits our complex encounters with medicine in a way that is inviting, wonderous, and enchanting. Lodestones are naturally occurring magnets, a near-magical phenomenon that was eventually harnessed within biomedical imaging technologies like MRI machines. Although healthcare can be a heavy topic, dreamy visions of technicolor and even glitter transform a difficult, isolating subject matter into a universal tale that nearly anyone can see themselves within.

Trails of mice lead us through the exhibition, at once recalling folklore characters and the foundation of medical research using animal models. Infant clothing becomes animated underneath the circular view of the microscope while life-sized hospital gowns spill forth the medical ephemera used during stays in the hospital. Presented as pastel prints with a hint of lore, this printwork showcases the evolution of life with illness, particularly in the pursuit of parenthood under medical surveillance. Taken together, this surreal exhibition showcases the hero’s journey to live a life of her choosing.

ABOUT THE ARTIST:

Dr. Darian Goldin Stahl is an interdisciplinary printmaker working between topics of medicine, disability, and well-being. Her work is based on the lived experiences of her collaborating partner and sister, Devan Stahl, as well as her own recent experiences navigating healthcare systems while pursuing parenthood. Darian is a printmaking instructor at the University of British Columbia Okanagan in Kelowna, where she lives and works on the unceded traditional lands of the Syilx peoples. She is also a Research Associate at the National Collaborating Centre for Indigenous Health. This unconventional mix of employment demonstrates her commitment to championing those who have been marginalized and othered in Western medical systems through advocacy, research, and art.

After attaining a BFA in Printmaking from Indiana University Bloomington and an MFA in Printmaking from the University of Alberta that both engaged healthcare topics, she then went on to achieve a research-creation PhD in Humanities from Concordia University in 2021 that investigated how artists’ books become multi-sensory archives of illness and disability. This work awarded Darian a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship at the UNBC Northern Medical Program and Health Arts Research Centre, where she works with patient groups to create artists’ books about their lived experiences within healthcare systems. Darian has exhibited her work all around the world, but her most notable achievement was the acquirement of her entire suite of artist’s books by the acclaimed medical art institution, the Wellcome Collection in London, where her books continue to evoke health discourses with public audiences.