HUMBOLDT — The Humboldt and District Museum is bringing in an award-winning exhibition that highlights the relationship between humankind and Earth’s natural forces.
Jennifer Fitzpatrick, director of cultural services, said Natura Vindicat (Latin for Nature Reclaims) is an exhibition of drawings by Saskatoon-area artists Cristine Andrew Stuckel and Diana Roelens. The works were inspired during an eight-month artist residency at the Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park and Zoo (SFFPZ), located on Treaty 6 Territory and the homeland of the Métis Nation in Saskatoon.
The exhibit’s unconventional collaborative process reflects the give-and-take relationship required between humans and nature for Earth and all its inhabitants to thrive.
Working collaboratively on each piece, the artists found ways to compromise and meld individual styles into a cohesive and seamless arrangement. An opening reception and artist talk will take place on July 17 at 7 p.m. The exhibit will be on display until Sept. 9.
“The relationship between humankind and Earth’s natural forces is long and storied,” the city’s press release stated, “but it is evident that through human organization – settlement and urbanization – there came a desire to control nature: to plunder, transform and cultivate the landscape to meet the needs of the population and to create ‘orderly’ spaces – manicured, weed-free environments.”
“But have we gone too far in our quest to sanitize and control our surroundings? Is it possible to allow the dwindling vestiges of the natural world to reclaim space within the urban environment and restore equilibrium between humankind and nature?” the release continued.
Having met in their first year of university, Stuckel and Roelens have been experimenting with unique collaborative approaches since 2020. Their large-scale drawings focus on creating new and untamed environments within urban landscapes.
Their work has won awards at the Annual Winter Festival at the Mann Art Gallery in Prince Albert in 2022 and 2023. In 2022, one of their collaborative drawings was acquired by the gallery for its permanent collection.
