Inner Latitude by Tia and Wilna Furstenberg

Wilna and Tia Furstenberg, a mother-daughter duo from Prince Albert is exhibited their art in the John V. Hicks Gallery in the Arts Centre on Central Ave. The name of the exhibition is Inner Latitude and consist of eleven artworks that are a combination of oil paintings, acrylic paintings, and charcoal drawings. The exhibition ran from March 1st till March 25th, 2022. The Furstenbergs’ submitted a proposal for an exhibition more than a year ago to Markus Miller, Director and Curator of the Mann Art Gallery and once accepted, Tia applied for a microgrant though SK ARTS. This grant funded all the supplies for the exhibition.
Inner Latitude: Artist Statement
Wilna and Tia Furstenberg
_______________________
March 1 — 25, 2022

The John V. Hicks Gallery is proud to present Inner Latitude.

Wilna Furstenberg and Tia Furstenberg are a mother-daughter duo who are both first generation Canadians. Their 2005 immigration from South Africa to Canada is reflected in this body of work; the ripple effect of this life-changing decision and transition is still felt today and prevalent in both their artistic practices. Symbols of nature, various landscapes, and memories in these two countries overlap in each piece. Latitude is an important concept; it is the angular distance of a place north or south of the earth's equator, but when positioned inwardly, it can also be the distance between the head and heart.

Although Wilna and Tia contrast in their processes and styles, their work is tied together by the unseen and thematic: the relational bond between mother and daughter, and ideas regarding identity, home, and memory. Wilna documented her three daughters’ childhoods very well; a few boxes of physical photos and many scrapbook pages were brought with the family in the transition. There have been several visits to and from South Africa, yet they’ve been far and in-between. The reliance on photos, stories, continuing traditions, language, and family are what have kept their first home a part of their cultural identity. Some of the questions posed by Wilna and Tia in their work are as follows:
What (or who) makes a place a home?
How does the interconnectedness of family, place, and spirit shape self-identity? What role do photographs play in memory recollection and/or reconstruction?

Through imagery provided in photos and her own memories, Tia has visually documented her emotions and perceptions of living in and leaving South Africa and then growing up in Canada. Just like memories, Tia’s paintings are fragments of past and present. She collages images of herself, her two sisters, and Ouma, with both familiar and unfamiliar landscapes, consequently blurring the lines between reality and imaginary. These works address feelings of displacement, isolation, and growth—concepts that all immigrant families face when transitioning to life in a foreign country.

Wilna draws largely from internal intuition and imagination. Her gestural and swift application of charcoal and paint is seen and felt by the viewer. Incorporating imagery derived from semiotics, she relies on the viewer's own interpretation of the work. Pain and working through pain is a central theme of Wilna’s work. Her ultimate faith and belief that joy comes after a dark night is key. The South African impala and protea/sugarbush, and the Canadian white-throated sparrow and white-tailed deer, are symbols of the south and north, our Motherland and our home-and-native Land.

Wilna Furstenberg (b. 1971) is a South African-Canadian photographer, digital designer, and visual artist. She graduated with a BA(FA) from the University of Pretoria in South Africa (1996). A popular online and in-class teacher, Wilna has been fortunate to teach classes in the the U.S., South Africa, Spain, Italy, Germany, Australia, and her home of Prince Albert. Wilna works full-time in Communications for the City of Prince Albert.

Tia Furstenberg holds a B.F.A. (2020) from the University of Saskatchewan. Her focused areas of creating are drawing and painting. During her studies, Tia exhibited artwork in Saskatchewan and Quebec, worked as a studio assistant for Allyson Glenn, and travelled to Greece through a University of Saskatchewan-funded grant for research. She is an instructor at and co-owner of Prince Albert’s Lemon Yellow Art Studio, and the full-time Registrar/Digital Media Coordinator at the Mann Art Gallery.
A very special thanks to SK Arts for funding the necessary supplies for this project through their microgrant program:
Smiles
Wilna
Digital Art Shop: http://www.iheartstudio.ca
Instagram: https://instagram.com/wilnafurstenberg/
Facebook Page: http://on.fb.me/19Zn4Wp
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/71babe
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/wilna/

Видео Inner Latitude by Tia and Wilna Furstenberg канала Wilna Furstenberg