Brink of Extinction / City Gallery / November 1 – December 19, 2024
Artist Statement
There are currently approximately 350 North Atlantic right whales left in the world. Loss of food and habitat, due to climate change and human action, have brought this species to the brink of extinction. This artwork is a response to this threat, a threat that, as the whales face, we all face.
The installation that encircles this room features representations of the remaining reproductively active females currently living, each named and cataloged according to their unique markings, such as callosities, and scars from encounters with fishing gear and ships. These individual markings help distinguish the whales and offer a haunting record of their lives shaped by both natural elements and human impacts.
I have used a range of techniques in this series to create a visual narrative that captures both the magnificence of these creatures, as well as the precarious journeys that they face during their lifetimes. Textural transfers of items washed up on beaches or entangled in whales, application of color, the addition of gems and stones, and depictions of breeding and feeding grounds tell an intricate story of the urgent need to honor and protect them.
Through this body of work, I aim to convey my deep desire to create protective spaces for these giants of the ocean—whether housed within a large copper bowl, symbolically cradling them from harm, or elevated on steel pins above a rock, lifting them away from the human-caused threats they face. These forms represent my attempt to create figurative shelter for the whales, offering them a space of safety amidst the ongoing dangers of our modern world. My installations transform these ideas into tangible, artistic expressions, where textures and forms evoke the struggle, beauty, and resilience of the North Atlantic right whales.
This series of work highlights the magnificent beauty of the North Atlantic right whales and draws attention to the echo of human actions reverberating through the ecosystem and impacting the health of these remarkable beings.
Artist Biography
Erica Stanley is an artist, educator, goldsmith, and arts advocate living along the beautiful Wolastoq River, in New Brunswick.
Stanley’s artistic practice serves as a means of experiencing, understanding, and honouring the natural world around her, and has shown in various galleries, including the Beaverbrook Art Gallery.
She has taught goldsmithing at the Nunavut Arctic College, and currently is a Studio Head of Entrepreneurship at the NB College of Craft and Design (NBCCD), as well as a Jewellery Instructor. Stanley holds a Bachelor of Applied Arts and a Bachelor of Adult Education from the University of New Brunswick, as well as a Diploma in Fine Craft and a Diploma of Advanced Studies from NBCCD.
She is a mother of a beautiful son, Tayo, who investigates materials and creative approaches together with her. Stanley continues to explore new techniques in jewellery, welding, and using the environment around her on her homestead as inspiration.
She wishes to thank Artsnb for their support, as well as her husband Aidan Stanley for the many collaborations, and to the Metal Six women whose collective inspires her to push her edges.
Many thanks to Kelly Galbraith for this wonderful interview with Erica Stanley!