Recap: Art opening and climate grief at Haida Gwaii Museum
Last week’s album release day and the gallery opening event at Saahlinda Naay (Haida Gwaii Museum) was a blast.
Benedicte Hansen and I introduced our work – her sculptures and paintings paired with my music for piano and biosphere – and I played three pieces from We Have All the Time on Earth: “Seeds of Earth”, “Hymn to Mosses”, and “Tropic of Unicorn”.
Our gallery show invites people to move through grief. I got to speak a little bit about climate grief and why that factors into all my work these days:
“Paying close attention to nature brings me joy. But it has also brought a persistent sense of grief about the climate. It’s hard to look squarely at the realities of a warming planet and the suffering it brings through extreme weather, heightened fire hazards, displaced communities, and extinctions of species we barely know. It’s even harder to imagine what all this will mean for our children and grandchildren. We are entering unknown territory.
I’ve noticed that a growing number of individuals share this sense of foreboding, a looming sense of sorrow stemming from impending losses that seem all but inevitable. I don’t believe they are inevitable. We can’t hide from what’s coming. But we can face it together. And we can take action. To do that, we need to give all of our emotions a space to live, including grief.”
The show is open for the next few months during visiting hours, so go check it out. An online version of the experience will be available before long.
Our house has been full of visitors in September too:
My dad, who helped set up audio equipment and troubleshoot tech problems the day before.
My mom- and dad-in-law, who just moved to Haida Gwaii and helped load Benedicte’s sculptures into the truck.
Our friend Tina Hamlin, who made some delicious dinners for us all and brought all-around good vibes.
Earlier in Sep, Scott and Alyssa, who listened to me play some of the music before it was ready for public consumption.
Many thanks to all of you and so many more, and to Haida Gwaii Museum and Gwaii Trust Society for funding the audio installation.
