Concept and Production by Vivienne Challandes
Castaways is a “rags to riches” genre of visual storytelling that embodies the collective voice of twenty women artists from Canada and the Americas. The exhibition is an immersive experience that takes the viewer on a compelling journey that reconsiders our existence in a material culture confronting global climate change.
As storytelling begins … Once upon a time “Castaways” came from Thrown Away, a destination no one talks about that is located in an endless sea of `unwanted clothing and textiles. In the exhibit society’s undesirables drive a 100% recycled, dynamic combination of visual art, installations and digital media in which the viewer must revisit the worthless – including individuals, animals and places that have become abandoned. As in the artwork of Robert Bateman, Castaways’ artists are determined to communicate from the frontlines of an endangered natural world to further meaningful public dialogue to reach a promising future.
Artist and Curator, Vivienne Challandes, presents climate change-related issues in a passionate, open-ended framework to invite participation and collaborations that foster social change. “Castaways artists were asked to face the destructive chaos of the garment industry and corporate greed. No small ask. Fortunately, when highly creative people are encouraged to create brave work and commit to revolutionary thinking – the extraordinary happens”.
The public is invited to witness an otherworldly flutter of the last butterflies, Phantom Reef, stranger creatures, the Frustrations, Ghost Nets and a Shadow Factory. At the end of the Castaways story – you decide how the future is fashioned.