Slow Emergencies by Monique Martin
Artist Statement - Slow Emergencies – Did we really even try??
We thought the environment was frozen in time. It is now a slow emergency. Nature measures time in epochs, eras, eons; it is not based on a human construct of days or years. Humans trespass without notice on nature’s time scale but have altered deep time. Our trespassing renders a lasting impact, stripping mother earth, leaving her vulnerable and weak. We were complacent thinking we had the answers and believing that tomorrow is always promised. Did we even really try? The eternal seconds of our nascent attempts to address climate change may be too late. The regrets will be carried by the future generations comparing what we could have done with what actually occurred. Time is eternal and everything is gradually covered by the earth.
'Slow Emergencies – Did We Really Even Try?' reflects on humanity’s impact on nature, which operates on a timescale far beyond our days and years. Our disregard for this natural rhythm has left the Earth vulnerable, and our attempts to address climate change may come too late. As we grapple with our delayed responses, future generations will judge us based on what we failed to do. The eternal passage of time will eventually cover our missteps, revealing the extent of our complacency and the fragility of our efforts to mend what we’ve harmed.
Biography: Monique Martin
Monique is an eco-conscious, internationally recognized, multi-disciplinary artist from Saskatoon, Canada with a 25-year exhibition history. She has exhibited her artwork in hundreds of significant solo, invited and juried exhibitions in numerous countries. Many of these were solo exhibitions in public galleries. Her works are held in public and private collections around the world. Some of the major collections include: Saskatchewan Arts Board, The Royal Alberta Museum, University of Washington Library, University of California-Los Angeles Library, Bytown Museum-Ottawa, among others.
Her work often uses significant symbols or comments on contemporary social issues. Monique creates bodies of work rather individual pieces and focuses on specific concepts. She undertakes extensive research prior to creating her work, often incorporating historically significant symbols and images to express her ideas. Her works push the boundaries of standard printmaking; enormous scale printmaking, installation based printmaking and working with three dimensions in printmaking.
She has received grants from Canada Council for the Arts, Saskatchewan Arts Board and Creative Saskatchewan.
Artist-in-Residence positions include: Disneyland Paris, Paris, France (2013), the Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan Festival (2013), the Saskatchewan Children's Festival (2012), Bytown Museum, Ottawa, Canada (2010), Spalding, United Kingdom (2008), Nice, France (2006), Vallauris, France (2006), Mount Vernon, USA (2004), Wynyard, Tasmania, Australia (2003) and Coaticook, QC, Canada (2001).
Artist Statement
My art is an intricate fabric woven from all the people around me, the experiences I have and the things I feel. Chapters of an artistic life are unlike chapters of a book. An art life flows forward, backward, side to side with no understanding at many times where one chapter ends and another begins. An artistic life can be marked by a series of work beginning or ending, exhibitions opening or closing, an artistic life is fluid and constantly mocking 'being done' as one idea begins as another merges and builds upon the last. I never know when is the last time I will touch upon an idea or build upon a past concept. As an artist I don’t know when the fork in the road is a medium, an idea, a residency, an exhibition or an image, and often for me it is as simple as a conversation with another person. I follow my brush, carving tools, screens, scissors and glue where they take me. I trust that the trail that is created behind me will be an interesting one.