HEATHER KAI SMITH
1. Ancient Forests belong to the Past, Present and Future, 2021, Coloured pencil, 15"x22”. 2. Reciprocity, 2021, Pencil crayon and pastel on paper, 20"x15". 3. Stewardship, 2021, Pencil crayon and pastel on paper, 15"x22".
STATEMENT
Heather Kai Smith’s current work draws primarily upon archival images of protest, collectivity, and intentional communities through drawing, animation, and installation. She has been spending time at the Eden Grove protection camp documenting the happenings through drawing.
“I'm thankful to have the opportunity to spend time as a visitor on unceded Pacheedaht territory, amplifying and documenting the work of the activist community on-site. Drawing is an act of slowing down and observing, a process that is crucial in these times. Through representations of the movement, I aim to support the work of ecological justice and solidarity in challenging overt misuse of power.”
“I'm thankful to have the opportunity to spend time as a visitor on unceded Pacheedaht territory, amplifying and documenting the work of the activist community on-site. Drawing is an act of slowing down and observing, a process that is crucial in these times. Through representations of the movement, I aim to support the work of ecological justice and solidarity in challenging overt misuse of power.”
BIOGRAPHY
Heather is currently living between Nanaimo, BC, and Chicago, IL. Heather completed her BFA in drawing from the Alberta College of Art and Design (2009) and her MFA at the Emily Carr University of Art and Design (2017). She has attended residencies across the United States and in Germany while exhibiting her work within a variety of institutional and non-conventional spaces. Heather has participated in and facilitated workshops and collaborative projects across Canada and the United States, most recently teaching undergraduate classes in drawing and visual arts theory at Emily Carr University of Art and Design. Heather is currently a Collegiate Assistant Professor of Visual Arts at the University of Chicago as a Harper-Schmidt Fellow of the Humanities. |