Barbara Gamble's "Natural Affinities"

For the past year and a half I've had the privilege to work with Ottawa painter Barbara Gamble for her upcoming gallery exhibition Natural Affinities opening October 10th at the Canadian Museum of Nature. The exhibition runs until January 4th and is located on the third floor of the musuem.

Gamble's exhibition concerns itself with the vulnerable botanical species in the surrounding Ottawa area. Her methods include a layering of oil paints with wax on various canvass, metal and wood surfaces. The exhibit also includes a collection of books by 19th Century pioneer Catherine Parr Traill containing a variety of pressed plants.

My contribution to the show is a 40 second video piece focusing on a rare species of orchid found in the Ottawa area. I accompanied Gamble and several biologists to a top secret preservation site and gathered footage of the orchid. The idea of the video is to provide a visual record of the habitat of the orchid and to offer an otherwise unseen angle of the tiny flower.

I encourage anyone who wants to see some amazing paintings (and possibly my video) to check out the Canadian Museum of Nature when they have a chance.

Here is the museum's page on the exhibit: http://nature.ca/exhibits/exs/gamble/index_e.cfm