When Two Waters Meet

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Victoria Arts council, "When Two Waters Meet," 2021

This exhibition and accompanying publication honours the 35th anniversary of the Victoria-Morioka Friendship (“Sister City Accord”) by highlighting the work of City of Victoria Indigenous Artist-in-Residence Qwul`thilum Dylan Thomas and Japanese artist, active in Morioka, Sakura Koretsune. A version of this show, featuring the two artists, was presented in Japan in November 2020. This reworked exhibition expands the conversation by seeing Thomas transition to a curatorial role as a way of promoting Coast Salish contemporary visual art through the inclusion of work by additional artists. 

Artists showcased in this exhibition include: Sakura Koretsune, Dylan Thomas, Maynard Johnny Jr, lessLIE, Susan Point, Roger Smith, Art Thompson, and Eliot White-Hill. The exhibition features two and three dimensional works relaying the importance of salmon in both cultures as well as an overall exploration of coastal life.

A corresponding installation in the VAC Vault project space by local artist Marianne Goodrich, titled Swimming With the Ancestors (an homage), incorporates resonant materials and imagery such as handmade papers and glass beads as well as fish silhouettes.

A special publication is planned to accompany this project and will include two chapters: the first being a document of the Japan (2020) exhibit with a curatorial text in English and Japanese by Kegan McFadden and Mai Fujioka, and the second focused on the Victoria (2021) exhibit featuring reproductions of the works in the exhibit, as well as the curatorial comments / interview with Dylan Thomas and the artists involved.