Platforms: The Teachers Among Us

Artist's statement

There We Would Now Have Been is inspired by philosopher of mind Thomas Metzinger’s theories of human consciousness as a ‘phenomenal tunnel' — the low-fi projection by which humans drill their way through a reality that is inconceivably rich and complex. 

Nominator’s statement — Sol Hashemi

“Deborah Edmeades is the kind of artist around whom an art scene can crystallize; latent forces and potentials materializing through her presence. In nominating Edmeades, I thought of the concept of a keystone species, which plays an active role in defining, creating, and maintaining an ecosystem. The term keystone comes from the name of the last stone placed at the apex of an archway, supporting the other stones and allowing the archway to bear weight.

In Vancouver, Edmeades has taken up this role on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw, and səlilwətaɬ. She actively exhibits new work consistently and is a constant presence across cultural events in the city. A younger generation and I have been greatly impacted by being able to be in dialogue with her and her visionary artworks that have preceded a current turn toward spirituality in contemporary art, both locally and internationally."

Artist's statement

• Gratitude is a state of mind 
• Love over money 
• What you see in others exists in you 
• Sometimes progress doesn’t look like progress 

Ubiquitous, sometimes pithy — sometimes game changers.  Always polite — attempting to keep things on track — optimistic, and annoying. Positive intentions mixed in with cognitive dissonance. These affirmations are a starting point for a series of drawings and visual metaphors. As words, these gentle reminders have felt frustratingly hollow. These drawings are an attempt to make sense of these gentle reminders and irritating shortcomings.

Nominator's statement  — Amy (Yun Ru) Bao

“Cheryl Hamilton is an inspiration and an incredibly caring teacher. Her dedication to passing on industry knowledge, making art accessible, and dismantling gatekeeping makes her an uplifting presence in our creative community and catalyst for emerging artists. The breadth of Cheryl’s multidisciplinary artwork is incredible; she’s a highly skilled painter, illustrator, animator, and sculptor. Her passion for combining visual arts with fun and curiosity is contagious. It’s been a joy to have her support and presence. Now, it’s an honour to be able to nominate her for this project, for all she’s done for not just me but many others.”

Artist's statement

A collage of landmarks: a big rock covered with lichen, North Shore mountain peaks — the Two Sisters, also called the Lions — a twisted pine from Lighthouse Park, sequoia trees on the Cambie Heritage Boulevard.

Lichen can be found just about anywhere, from deserts to mountain tops. In fact, there is some growing on the small tree to your right by the crosswalk. Neither plant nor animal, lichen is a collaboration between fungus and algae. The word symbiosis was invented to describe the cooperation of these 2 mysterious life forms.

Symbiosis is also symbolic, as in the mutual support that holds society together, like a kind of glue. The Two Sisters commemorate a successful peace between the Haida and the Squamish. Peaceful co-existence is itself a kind of symbiosis. Great and small, the earth is a living network of relations inextricably linked together. 

Nominator's statement — Jayce Salloum

“Encountering Hank Bull in the mid-1980s was like arriving at an oasis in the middle of a vast Victorian white settler provincialism, arriving at a coastal outpost of culturally enterprising folks on/in/at the Western Front where anything could happen — and it did.

The spirit of experiential experimentalism was fully embedded there, and Hank soared, taking it to heights and valleys, into realms of the artistically unknown, or at least not yet touched in these locales.

His truly conceptual inquisitivism is relationally generous, inclusive, inviting by-passers into the art/life realms that he inhabits. It is a collective nature — sometimes formalized, and always informal — a social capital skill that is rare these days.

He has a global reach, an internationalism of the curious mind, touching upon folks far and wide, joining and creating networks before that was a questionable word.

The many social gatherings led to art making, curating, performing, and enhancing of all types — some that words had to be invented for — genres that barely existed, or that were so ephemeral it was like the wisp of a breeze wrapping you up in a lost language of indeterminable essence, surrounded by the arms of a cedar.”

Deborah Edmeades lives and works in Vancouver and has shown her work internationally, including at:

• Afternoon Projects
• The Western Front
• Artspeak in Vancouver
• Participant Inc.
• The Pratt Manhattan Gallery in New York

She’s received support from the Canada Council for the Arts and Franklin Furnace Archive, among others.

Cheryl Hamilton is a visual artist living on the Coast Salish territories. Her artwork includes sculpture, painting, printmaking, and illustration. She graduated from Emily Carr College of Art and Design in 1990.

Her work has been influenced by her queer identity, satire, humour, surrealism, craft, and pop culture. Cheryl has a deep commitment to sharing her artwork in the public realm and has artwork in public and private collections across North America.

Hank Bull was born at Moh’kins’tsis (Calgary) in 1949 and lives with gratitude on the traditional and unceded territory of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and Tsleil-Waututh Nations (Vancouver). He is known for explorations in radio art, performance, shadow theatre, video, and telecommunications. He has also been active as a curator, administrator, and arts advocate.

Throughout a long career, he has continued to make art in a range of media, including painting, photography, video, music, and sound. Hank is represented by Wil Aballe Art Projects External website, opens in new tab.