WHEN: July 7th from 2pm – 5pm (or later)
WHERE: Meet at Main & Station, 168 Main Street, Parrsboro, Nova Scotia, B0M 1S0
ARTIST: Alexis Williams
Mushroom Walk with the Artist
Unlike other mushroom walks the goal will not only be to forage for food but to appreciate and be inspired by mycology. Alexis Williams will describe practical uses of wild mushrooms like ink making, dying, and environmental remediation while we explore what happens when we step off the path and use our intuition to make decisions to find mushrooms (and slime molds) to be studied for aesthetic inspiration. Participants are encouraged to bring cameras, flat bottom baskets and sketch books.
Alexis Williams (A.K.A Ember Erebus) is a Canadian artist working mainly in video and print. She has a love for biology and frequently uses natural materials like butterfly wings, mushroom spores, cast-off snake skins and spider web Silk in her artwork. As an amateur mycologist, wild mushrooms often take center stage both as material and subject of her work. Foraging and collecting are fundamental practices that lead her deep into the Canadian wilderness in search for new ideas, shapes and colors. A common theme in her work is the comparison of sampling and remixing cultural material to the collection and representation of natural material. In both cases of appropriation, the aesthetic and conceptual qualities of pre-existing elements are used to compose a new work that comments on the original. Alexis is fascinated by the natural world and is devoted to sharing her discoveries and creations to inspire others to indulge in their own interests in nature.
During her stay in Parrsboro, Alexis will also be exhibiting a series of graphite rubbings and participating in Main & Station’s market.