Dark Ocean

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Friday, September 9th, 2016
OPENING: Friday Sept 9, 7 - 9pm CONTINUING: Saturdays and Sundays Sept 10-25, , 12 - 4pm

"There Leviathan Hugest of living creatures, in the deep Stretched like a promontory sleeps or swims, And seems a moving land; and at his gills Draws in, and at his breath spouts out a sea" -John Milton

The Dark Ocean exhibition revolves around the mystery that surrounds whales. In this recent body of work Natasha van Netten uses data from the advancing field of cetology as a point of departure. Her work describes whales through a scientific perspective and explores the space between known and unknown information by straddling the blurred line between representation and abstraction.

Her practice uses the language of art as a tool to access scientific data and give it personal and visual relevance. For two years van Netten volunteered as crew aboard a 100ft sailing vessel in the Mediterranean and Black Seas. Her experiences of living on the water greatly influence her artistic practice and continue to inform her work. "During this time at sea," she explains, "I was constantly sharing the same living space with whales, yet rarely ever saw them. I am sure they knew I was there and I knew they were also there, but we almost never crossed paths. This series is motivated by my fascination of water and what it conceals inside an environment we can only visit temporarily."

Natasha van Netten was born in Vancouver, Canada in 1989. She was recently honoured to receive the Robin Hopper VVALS Legacy Award and was chosen to be a participating artist in the Endangered Wildlife — the Next Migration exhibition at the Robert Bateman Centre. Van Netten is a graduate of the Vancouver Island School of Art (2016). natashavannetten.com xchangesgallery.org