Chilliwack venues aglow with light sculptures by local artist

Two venues in Chilliwack will be aglow with one person’s art over the course of the next month.

Chilliwack light sculpture artist, Sylvie Roussel-Janssens, has her work on display at both the Royal Hotel and the Chilliwack Cultural Centre from now until March 15.

Gratitude will be in the lobby of the Royal Hotel while Towers is in the front windows of the Cultural Centre. Both installations are visible day and night.

“With these installations in Chilliwack I attempt to show art in sheltered areas for safe viewing while galleries and sanctioned public art events/festivals come back,” she said.

Roussel-Janssens repurposes items that may otherwise end up in the trash. She burns small holes using a soldering iron into various materials including synthetic fabric. The light, whether natural or artificial, shines through the holes and makes the sculpture glow.

The pieces in Gratitude are made from orange plastic snow fencing. Roussel-Janssens used pieces of fabric from previous projects which were then woven into the fencing.

“Making something new out of something old is at the heart of many craft traditions from all over the world. Such is the case for the quilting, basketry and rag rugs of my native Quebec,” she said.

Living on the traditional territory of the Stó:lò people and surrounded by huge cedars, she often thinks about the Indigenous woven cedar bark baskets, she said.

“I am inspired by that beautiful design.”

Towers is the progression of a series Roussel-Janssens started in the summer that now has integrated lighting. The pieces are made from recycle plastic flower pots and masonry twine.

Gratitude was made possible thanks to Contextualisation, an initiative of the Réseau nord-ouest (Northwest Network); a coalition of francophone artists centres in western and northern Canada.

For more, go to Roussel-Janssens website: lsclight.net.

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