ART IS LIKE LAUGHTER, IT SERVES TO UNITE HUMANS BEINGS WITHIN
I was born in Canada and grew up in the remote gold mining town of Timmins in the boreal forest of northern Ontario. I began painting from my canoe in the calmest corners of Ice Chest Lake. I wet my brushes in the lake water as I attempted to capture the acid bogs, the spruce forests and the immense sky all reflected in the still clear water. Pickerel swam beneath me and Loons cried fiercely and hauntingly when I arrived, and the male dove beneath my canoe until the female guided their twin chicks away from the intruder.
Né au Canada, j’ai grandi dans la ville de Timmins, une ville minière éloignée dans la forêt boréale du nord de l’Ontario. J’ai commencé à peindre depuis mon canoë dans les coins les plus calmes du lac Ice Chest accompagné des cris du huard.
En hiver, je m’allongeais sur la neige tassée par le vent pour regarder les aurores boréales. Je ne pourrais jamais me lasser de regarder ce théâtre de lumière qui continue de me motiver aujourd’hui. Je n’ai pas réalisé à quel point j’étais privilégié d’avoir cette relation intime avec une nature aussi pur.
At night on this lake the stars and their milky way were almost within reach. On winter nights, well protected in my parka, I lay on the wind packed snow to watch the aurora borealis dance and amaze me. I could never get enough of watching this theatre of lights. It left me with a sense of awe that continues to motivate me today. I did not realise then how privileged I was to have this intimate relationship with so much untouched nature. Today my motivation is also due to our obligate relationship with earth and our fatal neglect and exploitation of our home.
Education
BSc, Laurentian Uiversity, Sudbury, Canada
MSc, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada
Events
2023, Novembre Labo Urban, Ville de Fribourg « C’est les vaches qui montent » Exposition et animations sur thème de la Poya pendant un mois, à L’Atelier place de Notre-Dame 16, Fribourg, Switzerland.
2022 Labo Urban, Ville de Fribourg « C’est l’eau qui peint et le bois qui chant » Exposition et animations pendant un mois, Fribourg, Switzerland.
2011 Katara, Doha cultural Centre. Invitation by Al Jazeera TV Network for their 15th anniversary. 2 paintings.
2010, United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland – « Artists au Service de la Paix » on the occassion of the international day of water. Exhib from 17th March to 2nd April.
Exhibitions
Résidence Les Bonnesfontaines 8 Fribourg, Suisse, « C’est l’eau qui peint » 35 aquarelles, 25 novembre 2022 au 22 mai 2023
UBS Nyon, Origin of Life 202
La Corbière, Water paintings, Estavayer-le-Lac, 2018
Katara, Doha cultural Centre, Qatar, 2011
En Beauregard, Montreux, Switzerland,October 2010
Schilliger, Gland, Switzerland, May 2010
La Cité de Temps, Geneva, Switzerland, April 2010
Qubab Art gallery, Abu Dhabi, UAE, February 2010
Residence of the Canadian Embassador to Switzerland, Bern, July 2008
Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Haritage, Solo Exhibit, UAE, 2007
« Le Lien » Home de la Jogne, Charmey, Switzerland2004, « Equinox » – Kuriosum, Fribourg, Switzerland2005, « Mains en mains avec les artists », Kuriosum, Fribourg, Switzerland2005, « L’Eveil » – Atelier Boralis, Fribourg, Switzerland2006, « Les Chemins », Hotel Lion d’Ore, Romont, Switzerland2007,
Solo Exhibi at Abu Dhabi Cultural Center, Abu Dhabi, UAE2007,
Vision D’Art Ornans, Ornans, France2009,
En Beauregard, Montreux, Switzerland2010,
Les Tilluels, Monthey, Switzerland2010, « Ecosystems » – Solo exhibit at the Qibab Art Gallery, Abu Dhabi, UAE2010,
United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland – « Artists au Service de la Paix » on the occassion of the international day of water. ,