HARUKO OKANO | ARBORETUM ARBORESCENCE

ODD Gallery Installation
August 17 – September 21, 2006
Artist’s Talk & Opening Reception: Thursday, August 17, 7 PM

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ARTIST STATEMENT 

Part of my childhood was spent in northern and central Ontario, growing up in small rural communities as far north as Chapleau and White River, where nature was both my playground and my solace. In my late twenties I took up the offer of a friend to canoe and backpack across the northern parts of the provinces from Ontario to BC. I fell in love with the land then.

I now live on the east side of Vancouver. I miss the spectacle of autumn in the east yet, the mountains, the ocean and the cry of eagles keep me here on the west coast. I close my eyes and I can imagine the sound of the wind through the trees, the smell of cedar and pine, the taste of maple syrup and the rustle of leaves in autumn. Those have become my daily meditations, my anchor to sanity midst the cacophony of the city.

The installations I create as an artist have grown from my love of this land that supports all with such benevolence. They invite dialogue while expressing my personal concerns about the
shrinking wilderness. The installations are ephemeral in body, expressing human impact juxtaposed with the generative and degenerative processes of nature. Arboretum Arborescence is a prime example of this. It is my intention that experiencing this work will remain in one’s mind as an afterimage, a moment to consider our relationship to the natural world and to question our role and our priorities.

BIOGRAPHY

Haruko Okano is an installation artist whose work has been exhibited from the local to the international level. Her current work attempts to integrate her artistic practiceand daily spiritual beliefs with her love of the land. Her installations are viewer interactive  and combine commercially produced natural products with organic detritus materials. Okano lives in Vancouver, BC.