Artist Bio:
Heidi Pridy grew up on the territory of the K‘òmoks First Nation and currently live as a settler on the unsurrendered territories of the Lekwungen speaking peoples on Vancouver Island. At a party a few weeks ago, Heidi got asked if they were an artist, and they liked how it felt. Despite never calling themself an artist before that party, they have been making art for most of their life and plan to continue for the rest of it. They like to work with natural, reclaimed, or high-quality garbage treasures, and are captivated by light and shadow. Working on this installation has been a powerful process, and Heidi is excited by the conversations and connections that the project will continue to spark.
Artist Statement:
In a childhood of trauma and neglect, I found comfort in nature that I could find nowhere else. I have always felt that I was raised by the environment around me, by the rainforest, and the marshes, and the ocean - in these places I felt a deep sense of connection and belonging.
As I grew, the love I felt for the earth became overwhelming, as did my grief and outrage at the violence and destruction enacted upon it. I threw myself into activism, panicked by the fear of impending loss. I struggled with my own complicity in harmful systems, and in my guilt, I became avoidant and disconnected from nature. Overwhelmed with sadness and despair, I turned inward and tried to disappear. After years of running away from these feelings, I came to understand that the only release for this anguish was to re-engage with the land on an emotional and intimate level.
I returned to the practices of my childhood self and re-opened channels of communication, sharing my feelings and offering my love and gratitude to the creatures around me. As I re-establish myself in the web of relationships which make up the earth, and I am re-committing myself to upholding my responsibilities in maintaining a relationship of reciprocity and care. I am still overwhelmed by grief and despair, but it no longer completely consumes and immobilizes me – instead through this practice of re-engagement I am learning to move those feelings through me, and to transform that fear and sadness into care, commitment, and action. This piece represents this process.