Travellers on their way to the departure gates at Kelowna International Airport (YLW) will now walk past a giant blue-hued painting.
An homage to water by Peachland-based artist Aunaray Carol Clusiau, the work presents the path of a large wave that cascades from left to right across a matrix of seven five-by-five-foot-square wooden panels.
Mounted together, the panels create a continuous 35-foot-long mural.
“Visitors might think of the 18th-century Japanese artist Hokusai and his famous Great Wave work in block print, but Clusiau’s work has been created in a more contemporary fashion,” reads a release from the Kelowna Art Gallery, which manages the satellite art space at YLW.
Various creatures that rely on water as their habitat – a porpoise, otter, eagle, orca, shark, and even a mermaid – are presented cavorting in the large wave.
“Younger visitors will no doubt enjoy discovering all of the animal life included in the waterscape, while viewers with a few more years under their belts may consider current issues around water, for example, drought, clean drinking water, and loss of wetland habitats,” reads the release.
Clusiau was born and raised in Toronto, and later attended Emily Carr University in Vancouver.
Her work is represented by Hambleton Galleries in Kelowna, and by the Avens Gallery in Canmore, Alta., the Latitude Art Gallery in Calgary, and the Lloyd Gallery in Penticton.
Clusiau’s Sea Song will be on view through to May 9, 2016 at the Kelowna International Airport.
For more information about current exhibitions, public programming or special events, please visit the Kelowna Art Gallery online at www.kelownaartgallery.com.
