SHELTER! by Verity Byth with THE FIRST HUG by Annette Carmichael

SHELTER! is a solo exhibition of textile and multimedia installations by Verity Byth, exploring notions and emotions of shelter in a climate-ravaged world. Grounded in core expressions of shelter – houses, tents, boats, life preservers – each of the installations in the exhibition asks community members to respond to the facts of, as well as the emotions arising from, government decisions that perpetuate inequality and delay just access to shelter. They also invite the imagining and articulating of women-centred approaches, in which the patriarchal fabric of society can be re-woven from nurturing, equitable, environmentally sustainable, and inclusive materials. Using remnant and recycled fabrics, some immersed for months in the ocean, each piece is embellished with simple, imperfect stitches that make visible the mark of a single human hand, repeating an SOS signal in morse code, tracing the shared experience of witness and distress, repeating a mantra of love and justice.

Some of the work was shown in Mandurah this year, with a focus on homelessness. For the VAC exhibition in 2024, a new room of work will be presented, focusing on the species, skills and social conventions under threat from climate catastrophe. 

https://www.veritybyth.com/shelter

Photography by Verity Byth.

SHELTER is joined by THE FIRST HUG.  Choreographer, Annette Carmichael has created an immersive installation about our needs for intimacy and emotional shelter. Using film captured by the late Robert Castiglione and music by Andy O’Neil, this small exhibition evokes the delight of first encounters and the shelter provided by queer communities and allies.  

The First Hug was initiated in 2020 with contributions from choreographer Brooke Leeder and dance artist, Stephanie Hewitt. Supported by Minderoo Foundation.  Photography by Nic Duncan.

veritybyth.com / annettecarmichael.com.au

This event runs from 23rd February – 5th April, during the Vancouver Arts Centre’s opening hours: Monday – Friday, 10.00am to 4.00pm.