Darrell Joan Tomkins makes her Comox Valley debut with Between Heaven and Earth, a solo exhibition of her innovative photographic art prints.
They will be shown through March at Serious Coffee, 2760 Cliffe Ave. in Courtenay. There will be an opportunity to meet the artist at an informal opening on Friday, March 4, from 7 to 9 p.m.
Between Heaven and Earth features a selection of images which suspend the viewer in an ambiguity of perspective. Using her background as a medical geneticist, analyzing photomicrographs of chromosomes by focusing on minute details and patterns, the artist brings this unique experience of normally unseen worlds to her work.
The result is a compelling view of ordinary things, seen through a totally different perspective. There is astounding beauty lurking everywhere. Tomkins subtly nudges the viewer to see and acknowledge it.
It was while trekking in the Himalayan passes of Bhutan that she felt she was in a mystical dimension between heaven and earth. She now finds this feeling in the special and sacred places around her, such as the mountains of Strathcona Park, the marshes of the Courtenay Estuary, the islands of the Strait of Georgia and the beaches of the West Coast.
The images in this exhibition were mostly gleaned from local places, but also include some experimental work done as a fine arts student at North Island College.
To honour and preserve some of these precious environments, Tomkins will donate the proceeds of sales from the show to Sierra Club Comox Valley and Friends of Strathcona Park.
— Darrell Joan Tomkins