Rebecca Anweiler

My last body of work, Manifestations of a Different Nature, brought together both the mystery of nature and the ecological crises of our times. I still struggle to contain both of these realities – the beauty, magic and spirituality of the natural world, with the truth of its rapid decline due to the lack of sustainability of our materialistic ways. Pain and despair, waste and destruction, fear and greed all seem to drive us on towards collapse.

I’ve started painting landscapes; picture-perfect landscapes, iconic images of Canada from coffee table books and postcards. They disclose nothing of the true shape and condition of our country and the people living in it. There are no dams, no oil sands, no images of poverty, no clear-cuts, no forest fires, no landfills, no droughts, no skyline of exhaust fumes, no extinctions, no mining, no oil spills, no human rights abuses, no pilfering of land, no nuclear plants, no imposed economic dependency and colonization, no damaging agricultural practices, no economic crises, no nuclear stockpiles, no wars; just pretty pictures of places to visit across our lovely country; if we could afford the gas and its nasty footprint.

With a nod to the Group of Seven, this work is about seeing paradise and nothing else. Maybe it’s just a longing for denial, or to take a break from being critical. Look how beautiful it is, or was, at least 40 or more years ago. Unfortunately nature already was an endangered species confined to museums, parks and shrinking ‘wilderness areas’ at that time. There aren’t too many people talking about what’s happening to our world. I can’t stop thinking about it myself.

I wish you were here.
R.M. VAUGHAN