David Morrish: Nature Morte Works from the Permanent Collection

David Morrish has long been interested in Western culture’s representation of animals and the meaning that is constructed through the process. His narratives and photogravure print images of stuffed creatures that are seriously compromised by inept taxidermists, as well as haunting images of small, dead and dehydrated animals, invite us to look deeper into our relationship with living things. With a dark, gentle sense of humour he holds up a mirror to our cultural relationship with the natural world, one where death is always the corollary of life. This world view is balanced by Morrish’s images of trees tenaciously surviving in difficult conditions. His additional photogravures of scrubbed limestone barrens in Newfoundland and Ireland place human activity on the horizon of geological time where we are but specks of fleeting life in the ever-enduring natural world. Curated by Peter Dykhuis, the work in this exhibition is selected from recent purchases as well as work generously donated by Morrish to the Permanent Collection. Special Tour of Marlene MacCallum: The Architectural Uncanny and David Morrish: Nature Morte on Saturday 12 January at noon. The artists will be present to discuss their work, studio interests and conceptual motivations.