Laurel Terlesky

 

TENACITY OF HOPE

Our growing and increasingly interconnected global society seems fraught with the tensions of political, economic and environmental despair mixed with feelings of apathy and frustration.

 

And yet today, with our technological tools we have even more means to express ourselves, seek-out common ground, come to terms with our past and shape our collective vision for the future.

 

Where do we find hope? Does it come from looking forward, dreaming of the future and progress? Or does it come from acknowledging those motivated to help, share, and from

feelings of gratefulness? Or is hope generated by realizing that we could actually fail?

 

Through artistic research, I am engaging with the idea of hope by looking at the natural world – mainly house plants. Today there are 1.4 million posts on Instagram with #houseplants pointing to the inspiration and therapeutic care that our house plants offer. A revived trend from the 1970s and a move towards domesticating office, retail and social spaces, we’ve greened our interior spaces. And yet they mask their supreme commodification and dislocation from their native habitat – offering a sense of a less complicated relationship with the global economy and colonial histories. Thus, houseplants become an embodiment of the Anthropocene: evidence of a human affected planet.

 

What systems are layered with our plants and why do they continue to inspire hope?

 

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Laurel Terlesky is an interdisciplinary Canadian artist. She holds a Master of Fine Arts Degree in International Creative Practice from Transart Institute (New York / Berlin), accredited by Plymouth University (UK) and a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the University of Victoria (Canada). Her works have been experienced internationally on screen - television, large-scale projection, and the internet - and in exhibitions.

 

She has been awarded residencies in Spain, Germany, Thailand, U.S.A and across Canada. Her work has been generously supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, B.C. Arts Council and various local community initiatives.

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