Miranda Bellamy and Amanda Fauteux

Miranda Bellamy and Amanda Fauteux’s collaborative practice identifies and extends the stories of plants through site-specific research and experimentation. By listening and responding to plants, they make space for the critical revision of settler-colonial histories, reflect on material accountability, reciprocity and ways of seeing.

Collective has been a process of accumulation. Over several years and across many seemingly disparate locations, Bellamy and Fauteux have met with and photographed hundreds of marked trees. In this exhibition, varied etched or painted traces on numerous trees are emphasized, however, the authors of these marks are absent. We are left to wonder who is responsible for these marks, and why? Is it a secret code? An expression? What kind of message is this?

The trees and their marks tell us stories of loss, trauma, healing, renewal, cooperation and guardianship. These stories speak to the immediacy of a moment, where bio systems strain under intersecting crises. Bellamy and Fauteux’s work considers how we might approach our relationship with trees through a new lens and to recognize the significance of our inter connectedness, honouring the autonomy of trees as living beings. 

Curated by Jessica Groome, Curator, Exhibitions & Collections

Featured image: Trembling Aspen III (Sturgeon Lake), Digital C-type print, custom aspen frame, 2023

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

ARTIST BIO

Miranda Bellamy (she/her) and Amanda Fauteux (she/her) are partners and artistic collaborators who work with research-driven processes and interdisciplinary outcomes. They share time living in Ōtepoti Dunedin, Aotearoa New Zealand and within the traditional territory of Mi’kma’ki known as Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada. Since their collaboration began in 2019, they have exhibited their work and attended residencies in Aotearoa New Zealand, Canada, UK, and the USA. Recent exhibitions have included Stone Moves at Te Atamira, Tāhuna Queenstown, Aotearoa New Zealand, which unfolded the complex geological, botanical, and human histories within schist, and Terrarium, at Owens Art Gallery, Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada, which brought together audio visual experiments with biodata. Bellamy has a BFA from the Dunedin School of Art, Ōtepoti Dunedin, Aotearoa New Zealand. Fauteux has a BFA from Mount Allison University, Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada, and an MFA from Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Their collaborative practice was recognised on the long-list for the 2023 Sobey Art Award.

ARTISTIC STATEMENT

Our collaborative practice identifies and extends the stories of plants through site-specific research and experimentation. By listening to plants and responding through interdisciplinary projects, we make space for the critical revision of settler-colonial histories, reflect on material accountability, reciprocity, and ways of seeing. Collective has been a process of accumulation. Over several years and across the many seemingly disparate locations we have visited, we have met with and photographed hundreds of marked trees. In our images, the makers of the varied traces we found etched into or painted on each tree are absent. We are left to wonder who is responsible for these marks, and why? Is it a secret code? An expression? What kind of message is this? The trees and their marks have told us stories of loss, trauma, healing, renewal, cooperation, and guardianship. These stories speak to the immediacy of this moment, where biosystems strain under intersecting crises. Through our work we consider how we might, in approaching our relationship with trees through a new lens, be able to see past ourselves in a way that recognises the significance of our interconnection and honours their autonomy as living beings.

Click the image to view Collective exhibition catalogue

Collective 3D Interactive Online Exhibition

Interactive Self-Guided Tour

Collective online virtual exhibition is presented exactly as it is in real-life. The exhibition is comprised of large-scale printed photographs and a video installation. Each item in the exhibition is interactive, allowing didactic, captions and additional information to be displayed at the click of a mouse button.

Note: This online virtual exhibition features a total of four exhibitions, including the Collective exhibition situated in Galleries 3 and 4. Upon loading the page, you will first enter galleries 1 and 2, where you can explore a variety of artworks before advancing to Collective.