Karen Ireland wants people to walk on her art.
“Step on it,” she says to a hesitant visitor in the art gallery at the Chilliwack Cultural Centre.
The canvas – which features a large drawing of a pregnant, starving mother and her emaciated child on her shoulders – has been attached to a piece of plywood and laid on the floor.
Ireland strolls onto her artwork, stepping on text of stock market numbers from decades ago, walking across the drawing of the mother and child, and stepping over to more text where several countries are listed under “collateral losses.”
Placed on top of the canvas are a clock, snakeskin stiletto heels and a rock shaped like a penis.
All of the objects have symbolism.
Her piece is part of ‘Wings, Symbols and Myths,’ a group show put on by the Chilliwack Visual Artists Association (CVAA). The show is open from Nov. 2 to Dec. 10.
Ireland admits it will be difficult for people to walk across her artwork, but she explains why she wants people to step on the canvas.
“I think that we don’t respect everyone on the planet,” she said. “We have illusions of grandeur. I think we’re very entitled and although we verbalize our distress with that, we have no way of dealing with it.”
Ireland points to the mother and child, drawn from an image she saw in a newspaper about 20 years ago.
“This woman is pregnant, she has a child who’s dying. She’s dying and she’s being manipulated by the powerful (people) of the world, who are males who manage the economies.”
She picks up the stilettos.
“This is the Western person who doesn’t care about her, but is nevertheless a victim herself.”
Across the gallery, three pieces by Mary-Lee Merz hang on the wall.
One is a painting with a large cross in the middle and other objects painted around the cross like shells, female torsos and details of ancient pottery. The items symbolize sexuality, fertility and regeneration.
Hung on either side of the painting is three-dimensional artwork with small shelves. Objects placed on the shelves and pictures painted in the squares include seed pods, a cherub, a raven skull, money and a small Tibetan mask.
Some items have more than one meaning.
“The raven can be a sign of good fortune or it can be a messenger of death or bad fortune,” Merz said.
“Historically, every culture has created ritual and symbols and myths to explain phenomenon and organize themselves in the world,” she said.
Merz and Ireland are just two of the dozens of CVAA members whose artwork is now on display in the O’Connor Group Art Gallery at the Chilliwack Cultural Centre.
The CVAA group show ‘Wings, Symbols and Myths’ runs from Nov. 2 to Dec. 10 with an opening reception on Saturday, Nov. 5 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday. Admission is free.
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Email: jenna.hauck@theprogress.com
Twitter: @PhotoJennalism