Emily van Lidth de Jeude
artist - multimedia social practice
Bowen Island, Canada
Web: emilyartist.ca
YouTube: emilyvanartist
Instagram: emilyvanartist
Email: emilyvanartist at gmail dot com
Social practice artist, working through art and education to promote social and environmental engagement; to open communication about issues of human evolution and give authentic voice to others. Much of my work is interview-based, and many of my materials are reclaimed, having a history of use by women, children, and families.
I love words. I'm a writer and blogger and singer of traditional ballads and other songs, but I see music and emotion more than I hear it, so I tell through art and community events what I can't express in words alone.
CURRENT PROJECTS
One Solar Year
A collaboration between myself, my son Taliesin, and my partner Markus Roemer, this project is like a time capsule that looks at one specific solar year (from Winter Solstice 2021 to Winter Solstice 2022) from a social, ecological, and astronomical perspective. It lays out the events, rhythms and cycles that we live with, clockwise around the gallery space, so that visitors can experience them in new visual ways. One Solar Year brings together Markus' graph of daily solar, lunar, tidal, daylight and temperature data with Emily and Taliesin's ecology photos from the same time, as well as poems written by Emily that respond to concurrent ecological, seasonal, and societal events.
w h a t . h o m e
An immersive two-channel video and fabric installation that digs into
feelings of belonging, place and identity. Protagonists talk about their
experiences of home, from political and racial tensions to living in a
mud hut, a boat and a mansion, to homelessness, displacement, a search
for belonging, and varying experiences of colonialism. what.home
explores the universality of the human search for belonging and home.
A growing collection of reclaimed, altered and painted white garments that explore our female culture and heritage, questioning what women choose to wear and to discard (to bear or to release), in the contexts of our societies, families, and personal life journeys.
Songs of the Apocalypse
A collection of very personal pieces (oil and graphite on canvas)
loosely focused on personal, societal and ecological change;
reminiscences of childhood traumas, abstracted as memories are, and
visualized through song.
change/able
Non-linear interactive canvas paintings. Each is a collection of square
canvases that is interchangeable, rearrangeable, and rotatable. Each of
these pieces is different for each person who sees and engages with it,
inviting people to consider big ideas of art and human experience in a
physically interactive way.
Girl Stories
Written mostly in 2014, this is a book of short stories that come
together to create a short novel. From stark takes of growing up a girl
in late twentieth century suburban Canada to vibrant narratives of
motherhood, family, end-of-life and birth in an eerie setting of
societal collapse, Girl Stories is an exploration of the emotional
process of becoming and evolving a woman. I had this book edited and
layed out for self-publishing, but now am looking for a publisher!
Woman Story
Woman Story is an installation about the stories we tell ourselves, as
women. The installation is primarily mixed media nudes on reclaimed
paneling, a mannequin with measuring-up tape, a video projection of the
silent film "I Love Me I Love Me Not I Love Me", and an interactive
installation of women's self-commentary. I am currently looking to show
the nudes on paneling and interactive commentary in conjunction with the
(dis)robe series.
I Love Me I Love Me Not I Love Me
Silent video projection of the artistgoing through a process of
self-doubt, destruction, and renewal. A video of this installation is in
the Woman Story section of the gallery on this site.
Lovely Bush: Aesthetic Prosthetics for the Aspiring Woman
Prosthetic pubic hair made of reclaimed wigs. Includes upper and lower
hair prostheses, in blonde and grey. Every aspiring woman needs a set!
The MAMA Project
Endorsed by UN Women Canada, MAMA is a travelling art project that
empowers mothers by inspiring and facilitating expression and dialogue
about motherhood. It consists mainly of portraits of mothers on used bed
linens, with painted quotes and recorded interviews with those mothers,
accompanying. MAMA celebrates our common experience as well as the
significance of our occupation in the development of humanity, and, by
provoking thought and conversation about this, MAMA empowers us to
mother conscientiously. The show has been installed numerous times in
British Columbia and Washington State.
OTHER WORK
Rickshaw Unschooling
As a dedicated unschooler and writer, I use this blog not only as a
place to share our family's adventures, but also as a container for much
of my writing about alternative educational, parenting and lifestyle
choices. Rickshaw Unschooling is included on a few recommended reading
lists for unschoolers and lifelearners, and will be featured on the
Children and Nature Network's newsfeed. I also have created Wild Art, an
explorative art, science and wilderness program which I have been
running for the past few years, and recently have been invited to do a
few teacher-ed workshops in North Vancouver and on Bowen Island.
Information on this is also to be found at Rickshaw Unschooling.
2009 - Plastic Bag Art: In an effort to highlight our culture's reliance on and over-use of plastic, at a time when plastic bags are being rejected across North America, the artist created a plastic bag kite, a plastic bag pathway, and a 16-foot-high plastic bag tree. These were installed on Bowen Island as commentary on the Municipality's controversial use of large amounts of public funds to purchase and install a synthetic turf playing field. 4 other artists helped with the labour of these projects, but wished to remain anonymous.
1997 - present (ongoing) - Wild Art: An explorative art, science, and wilderness program for youth, as well as expressive art workshops for adults. Wild Art Website
2007 - present (ongoing) - Wild Food: Every year Emily leads Wild Food identification walks for locals and visitors on Bowen Island.
2004 - present - The Living Year: a poetic and visual journey through the seasons, as they transpire in British Columbia's temperate rainforest. This is a book in the making; daily macro photos of plant life as it presents throughout the seasons, as well as poems reflecting on the changes of the passing year.
1998 - 2010 - Sealkie Songs: A collection of songs, stories, prints, drawings, handmade books, and paintings, which will someday take the form of an installation/performance work. The work relates the female experience to ancient stories of the seal people. Songs performed regularly at local (Bowen Island) events.
1999 - Not Hippos! A comical children's book, in rhyming verse, with fold-out pages.
2005 - 2014 (annual) - The Rickshaw Masquerade: A community gathering! Full masquerade finery with local/wild food and music to share as the evening progresses. Many elaborate handmade masks and costumes are involved. This party was described in Vancouver Magazine: http://glave.com/wp-content/uploads/vm_turfwar_nov08.pdf
SELECTED RECENT MEDIA
- 2023 Article by Mathilde Rohr. Hearth Gallery One Solar Year exhibition.
- 2023 CBC Radio interview with Rohit Joseph for NxNW. GPAG w h a t . h o m e exhibition.
- 2023 Article by Michael Gurney, North Shore News. GPAG w h a t . h o m e exhibition.
- 2020 Interview with Emily Carr University Alumni Association.
- 2020 Article published in Collection Magazine. Print only. issue 83, page 86.
- 2019 Article by Alexa Culottis, PhD. ArtAscent Journal Bronze Artist (December 2019 issue: Motion). Full article in print or digital magazine only. Email for pdf.
- 2019 Article about change/able Undercurrent Newspaper
- 2018 Announcement of Amsterdam exhibit w h a t . h o m e by Goleb
- 2017 radio interview on Vancouver’s Early Edition (starts at 1:20)(archived)
- 2017 interview with Schema Magazine (archived; email for screen capture)
- 2017 news interview with BCIT Magazine
- 2017 Bowen Island Undercurrent article: w h a t . h o m e
- 2014 Bowen Island Undercurrent Article: Woman Story
MEMBERSHIPS
- Spilt Milk Gallery (Edinburgh) artist profile
- National Museum of Women in the Arts
- West Vancouver Arts Council artist profile
- Bowen Island Arts Council
- Bowen Island Nature Club
WORKS PUBLISHED/RECOGNISED/EXHIBITED
2024 | Invited to participate in group show about childhood trauma at Silk Purse Gallery (July) | West Vancouver, BC |
2024 | Invited to present and perform (dis)robe garments at Art Vancouver fair (April) | Vancouver, BC |
2023 | w h a t . h o m e exhibited (by invitation) at the Hearth Gallery. | Bowen Island, BC |
2023 | One Solar Year (collaboration with Taliesin van Lidth de Jeude Roemer and Markus Roemer) exhibited at the Hearth Gallery. | Bowen Island, BC |
2023 | Contributor to the Procreate Project Archive, displayed by Air Gallery, currently in Manchester. | Manchester, England |
2023 | w h a t . h o m e supported by the Canada Council for the Arts | Canada |
2023 | w h a t . h o m e exhibited at Gibsons Public Art Gallery | Gibsons, BC |
2022 | One Solar Year: @onesolaryear At the intersection of ecology and humanity: observations on life in the pacific northwest through one year. | online |
May 2021 | Letter to Myself in the Future included in Arts Territory Exchange's "Unboxing" project, which begins in Cambridgeshire, UK and will travel around the world. | International (orig. Wales) |
Oct 2020 | Trauma Cocoon Release (performance) online, hosted by the Hearth Gallery as part of their Artists in our Midst series. | Bowen Island, BC |
Aug 2020 | Invited to participate in The Hearth Gallery's Surfacing exhibition. Exhibited 3 pieces from Songs of the Apocalypse collection. | Bowen Island, BC |
Jun 2020 | Selected participant in The Hearth Gallery's Saving Sea to Sky exhibition. | Bowen Island, BC |
2020-2021 | Outdoor Exploration with Emily video series. April 1 to June 29, funded by Responsive Small Neighbourhood Grant: Bowen Island Municipality, Bowen Island Community Foundation, and Vancouver Foundation. | Online; Bowen Island, BC |
Dec 2019 | Selected participant in Open Space Gallery's "Open Share" event | Victoria, BC |
Dec 2019 | Winner of Bronze Artist of the Month, ArtAscent Art and Literature Journal | International |
Sept 2019 | Solo show at Cove Commons Gallery: change/able installation with about us (music). | Bowen Island, B.C. |
Feb 2019 | "You Can't Follow Their Rules" exhibited & sold at Cove Commons Gallery. | Bowen Island, B.C. |
June 2018 | Nursing Gown and Chain Dress curated into Wearable Art show at Cove Commons Gallery. | Bowen Island, B.C. |
May 2018 | Installation of what.home at Goleb project space | Amsterdam, the Netherlands |
2017 | Participated in the MONA Biennale (Praxis - Museum of Non-Visible Art). Twitter: monacanada | Worldwide |
2017 | Solo exhibition of the MAMA Project at Deer Lake Gallery. | Burnaby, B.C. |
2007-2017 | Writing and photography for the Bowen Island Undercurrent newspaper, the Bowen Bulletin, the Children and Nature Network, and the Bowen Nature Club. | Bowen Island, B.C. |
2016-17 | Solo exhibition at Artisan Square foyer. (featuring Change Your Own Adventures, abstracts and florals) | Bowen Island, B.C. |
2015 | Participated in 'It's a Wrap' show. | Bowen Island, B.C. |
2015 | Hosted outdoor art exhibition featuring broad range of works from the past ten years. | Bowen Island, B.C. |
2015 | Participated in Wearable Art show. | Bowen Island, B.C. |
2014 | Woman Story installation exhibited. Solo exhibition at Bowen Island Arts Council gallery. | Bowen Island, B.C. |
2014 | Reading of excerpts from Girl Stories (book of short stories). | Bowen Island, B.C. |
2012 | Participated in Printmakers of Bowen Island show. | Bowen Island, B.C. |
2012 | The MAMA Project exhibited at the Synchronicity Festival | Gibsons, B.C. |
2012 | 5 chairs exhibited & sold at Take a Seat exhibit | Bowen Island, B.C. |
2012 | Forest 1 exhibited in Bowen Island Municipal Hall | Bowen Island, B.C. |
2012 | 4 interior forest paintings exhibited as part of Bowen Landscapes show | Bowen Island, B.C. |
2011 | Honeybee #1, #2 and #3 exhibited as part of Bugs show. | Bowen Island, B.C. |
2011 | SuperMAMA performed: May 29th | Vancouver, WA |
2011 | The MAMA Project exhibited May 4th - 8th | Port Townsend, WA |
2011 | Him and Me (intaglio) exhibited at Bowen Island Municipal Hall. | Bowen Island B.C. |
2010 | Varied edition of Him and Me (2 intaglio prints) exhibited at Gifted show. | Bowen Island B.C. |
2010 | Nelson and When (2 bed-linen portraits) exhibited as part of Gifted show.Nelson and When (2 bed-linen portraits) exhibited as part of Gifted>show. | Bowen Island B.C. |
2010 |
SuperMAMA Performed: May 1st and May 15th: Gallery in Artisan Square, Bowen Island, B.C. August 13: Bastion Square, Victoria B.C. August 15: Coast Collective Gallery, Colwood, B.C. |
B.C. |
2010 |
The MAMA Project exhibited: Apr 29 to May 17: Gallery in Artisan Square. Bowen Island, B.C. August 13: Bastion Square, Victoria B.C. August 15: Coast Collective Gallery, Colwood, B.C. |
B.C. |
2008 | NOxIOUS installation exhibited: Pacific Festival of the Book International Exibition, Victoria Arts Connection Gallery, Mar 3 to Apr 26. | Victoria, B.C. |
2008 | Our Blanket and Explanation published in the Arborealis Canadian poetry anthology. | Ontario. |
2008 | The Passion of Parenthood published in the Literary Review of Canada (LRC), January/February 2008 issue. Also featured on the LRC website, January 2008. | Toronto, ON. |
2007 | Les Calanques published on Cahoots Online Magazine. | Saskatoon, SK. |
2007 | Stay At Home Mom performed by Jane Bee at the Seek Cover Art Show (art inspired by literature one-night event) at The Project art gallery, June 22. | Victoria, B.C. |
2007 | Lullaby for a Forever Baby: Shortlisted for Mattia 9th annual international poetry contest. | Vancouver, B.C. |
2007 | Winter Morning in a Garry Oak Meadow: Honourable Mention from Pandora's' Collective Spring poetry contest, June. | Vancouver, B.C. |
2007 | Home from the Mailbox (poem) and First Flight (photo series from Wings installation) published in Spring 2007 issue of One Cool Word magazine. | Vancouver, B.C. |
2007 | Linen Press hand-bound book exhibited: Art of the Book Exhibit, Pacific Festival of the Book Victoria Arts Connection Gallery, Mar 1 to Apr 30. | Victoria, B.C. |
2007 | 17 Socks: Honourable Mention from Pandora's Collective Hibernating With Words poetry. | Vancouver, B.C. |
2006 | 8 seasonal poems For David Bookbinder's book of 52 mandalas. | Massachusetts, USA |
2000 | First Flight and untitled forest painting exhibited at the Silk Purse Gallery. | West Vancouver, B.C. |
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
2010 - 2022 | Wild Art Leader |
Designed the Wild Art Program.
As an explorative learning facilitator, I lead and mentored adults, teens
and children in wilderness exploration, explorative
art-making/learning/teaching. Ended the program because of long covid-related disability and to focus on my visual art career. |
Bowen Island, B.C. |
2019 | Island Pacific School | Planned and taught a life-drawing program for students of the Monday mentors program. Grades 6-9 | Bowen Island, B.C. |
2018 | Island Pacific School | Planned and taught a drawing fundamentals program for students of the Monday mentors program. Grades 6-9 | Bowen Island, B.C. |
2017 | Island Pacific School | Planned and taught a 12-week colour theory program for grade 9 students. | Bowen Island, B.C. |
2015 | Island Pacific School | Funded by the Art Starts Program, planned and facilitated a cultural exploration and lantern-making project for grade 9 students. | Bowen Island, B.C. |
2011 - 2015 | Nature Club (F)unschool | Every Friday afternoon during the school year, led local families on wilderness exploration walks, discussing ecology, wild food, human impact on local ecosystems, etc. inspiring children and adults to get to know, trust, and value their surroundings. | Bowen Island, B.C. |
2011 - present | Wild Food Tours | Organize and lead various wild food identification walks. | Bowen Island, B.C. |
2008 - 2016 | Rickshaw Art Gatherings | Each gathering has a planned activity, which ranges from quite technical (ex: tie dyeing) to very intuitive (ex: wild clay harvesting and sculpting). Focus is on creativity and artistic exploration for all ages. | Bowen Island, B.C. |
2012 & 2013 | Visual Art Mentor | Mentoring in visual arts for private clients. | Bowen Island, B.C. |
2012 | Bookmaking Instructor | Guest Artist at Island Pacific School, for bookmaking unit. | Bowen Island, B.C. |
2010 | Bowen Island Arts Council | Led adult bookmaking class (6 weeks). | Bowen Island, B.C. |
2009 | Jones House School | Led bookmaking unit for students in grades 6 and 10. | Vancouver, B.C. |
2004 | Bowen Island Parks & Recreation | Led sculpture class for children aged 7-10 | Bowen Island, B.C. |
2003 | Island Pacific School | Led student bookmaking project | Bowen Island, B.C. |
2001 | Burnaby Parks/Recreation | Taught a pro-D workshop for Burnaby Recreation employees focusing on self-directed explorative art for children. | Burnaby, B.C. |
1997-00 | Bonsor Recreation Complex | Taught a variety of adults and children''s art classes, including murals. | Burnaby, B.C. |
1996 | Painting Lessons | Taught students aged 10 - 14, including design and direction of students in painting outdoor mural (4x7m) | The Hague, The Netherlands |
1996 | Drawing Lessons | Taught students aged 10 - 13 | The Hague, The Netherlands |
1994 | Art Lessons | Taught 5 students aged 12 - 14 | Sorrento, B.C. |
1993 | Art Lessons | Taught general arts to a group of 6 children aged 4 - 8 | Bowen Island, B.C. |
MURAL/WINDOW-PAINTING CONTRACTS
2018 | Private Client | Sandhill crane with chick (interior glass door painting). | Bowen Island, B.C. |
2018 | Private Client | Blackberry vines on three bathroom windows. | Bowen Island, B.C. |
2016 | Private Client | Wraparound kitchen mural - birch forest with barred owl. | Bowen Island, B.C. |
2010 | Private Client | White branches mural. | Bowen Island, B.C. |
2010 | Private Client | Children's cozy corners with murals, (in consultation and with the children): One dark wizard corner with swirly gradient blue starry night, glowing stars, and blue curtains with application of glowing stars. One bright fairy tree corner with false gate leading to fairy-inhabited tree, organza curtains and child-created leaves. This is an unschooling family, and very important that the children are a part of the design process and development. | Bowen Island, B.C. |
2009 | Bowen Children's' Centre | Windswept tree mural in daycare. | Bowen Island, B.C. |
2008 | Bowen Children's' Centre | Interior decoration, playhouse design, cloud murals in washrooms, and multi-wall forest-mural in preschool classroom. | Bowen Island, B.C. |
2007 | Bowen Island Gas Station | Seasonal window painting: Pine Siskins on the Christmas Bird Count, in memory of Alan Shatwell. | Bowen Island, B.C. |
2007 | The Purple Door Gallery | Large window paintings: river rocks and water. | Bowen Island, B.C. |
2007 | Bowen Children's Centre | Mural: winter tree (to be decorated by teachers). | Bowen Island, B.C. |
2006 | Private Client | Window painting: faux stained-glass | Sorrento, B.C. |
1999 | Private Client | Provincial French landscape (dining room) Faux finish (stucco look) with gilded vines (bathroom) | Vancouver, B.C. |
1998 | Private Client | Window paintings: maple tree and ocean scene | Vancouver, B.C. |
1998 | Private Client | Optical illusion: shelves containing old books and ephemera painted onto front of dresser. | Vancouver, B.C. |
1998 | Private Client | Faerie-landscape on all three walls of walk in closet | North Vancouver, B.C. |
1995 | Private Client | Giant sunflowers and sky in water-closet. | The Hague, The Netherlands |
1994 | Giant Steps West | false window: ocean vista | Kamloops B.C. |
JUROR'S CHOICE AWARDS
1996 | Cedar Trees (oil on panel) Interior Island Forest (oil on panel) Him and Me (triptich of intaglio prints) (sold) | Shuswap Festival of the Arts | Sorrento, B.C. |
1995 | Grootvader (graphite drawing) | Shuswap Festival of the Arts | Sorrento, B.C. |
1993 | Fuchsia (oil on paper) | North Shore Spring Juried Exhibition | North Vancouver, B.C. |
VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE
2009-2016 | Board of directors, Bowen Nature Club, and Founder and Leader of Nature Club (F)unschool: | Set up and maintain membership as well as website, email communication, etc. Redesigned logo. Organized various events, and began (F)unschool program for families. (F)unschool is a weekly wilderness walk that acquaints adults and children of all ages with the local ecosystems, as well as our place in and the value of these ecosystems. | Bowen Island, B.C. |
2000 to present | Community | Volunteer with various community events and organizations, often face-painting, organizing, planning, front-of-house/gate duties, decorating, graphic design, setting up and maintaining web-presence and email lists, etc. | Bowen Island, B.C. |
2003-06 | Board of directors, Bowen Island Family Place, and Founder and Leader of Mothers Place Program: | vice president, president, Mothers Place Coordinator. Conceived, developed and implemented a program to support new mothers on Bowen Island: grant-writing, newsletter production, community networking, and developing and running a weekly parent-child circle time, with developmental games and activities, as well as an ongoing weekly speaker series. | Bowen Island, B.C. |
2001 | Bowen Island Music Assoc. | Light Effects for Fruit/Resin concert. | Bowen Island, B.C. |
2001 | Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre | Wrote, illustrated, & produced a children's book for Aquarium use: How to Slurp Clams. | Vancouver, B.C. |
2000 | Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre | Completed volunteer training program; worked mainly with Riverworks program. | Vancouver, B.C. |
1998-00 | Member of housing co-op | (many volunteer duties, mostly for membership committee). | Vancouver, B.C. |
1994-96 | Shuswap Festival of the Arts | (many duties). | Sorrento, B.C. |
1994 | Giant Steps West | working daily with autistic children | Kamloops, B.C. |
LANGUAGES
English (first language)
Dutch (fluent: written/spoken)
French (fluent: written/spoken)
German (presently learning - not yet fluent)
EDUCATION
1998-2001 | Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design | graduation BFA, 2001: printmaking, sculpture | Vancouver, B.C. |
1997-1998 | Douglas College | Biology, English, and First Nations Studies | New Westminster, B.C. |
1994-1996 | Royal Academy of Fine Arts | major: painting minor: printmaking | The Hague, Netherlands |