Dear Editor,
As we begin another environmentally disturbing fire season, it is timely that the current Artist-in-Residence at the Harrison Hot Springs Ranger Station, Aileen Penner, has opened her powerful installation, “We hold grief in our lungs.”
The work is beautifully executed: display after display illustrating the effect of species lost whilst remaining true to the power of the artist to create an elegant work of art.
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As you go about your day enjoying the beauty of our area, I recommend that you drop by the Ranger Station, and ponder the meaning behind this remarkable body of work. Penner has a degree in Environmental Studies and her understanding of species loss is well-illustrated in terms we can all understand through her art.
We are losing 150 species a day worldwide and what would that mean to us here in Kent: take 150 of our common insects, plants, birds and remove them from our daily life. I grieve over the loss of the beautiful seashore starfish that have largely disappeared from the Pacific Coast, and my grief does fill my lungs.
Thank you, Ms. Penner, for your thoughtful and powerful work.
-Coral McFadden, Harrison Hot Springs
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