D’Arcy Wilson is an interdisciplinary artist whose work considers the relationship between Western Culture and the wilderness, addressing themes of vulnerability, alienation, and isolation. At Struts & Faucet, D’Arcy will be producing the final stage of her project The Memorialist, which unearths the story of North America’s first zoo since the Mayan Empire. Opening in Halifax, NS in 1847, Andrew Downs’ Zoological Gardens became internationally respected and a favorite public attraction until they closed in 1868. Through researching and retelling this story, The Memorialist considers the implications of the colonial desire to establish zoological gardens beside a great wilderness, and highlights the absurdity of putting the wild animal on display.
D’Arcy has exhibited her work across Canada and has participated in artist residencies at the Banff Centre, Atelier D’Estampe Imago (Moncton, NB), KIAC (Dawson City, YT) and within Halifax Regional Municipality. She lives in Corner Brook, NL, where she is Assistant Professor of Painting and Drawing at Memorial University’s Grenfell Campus.
The Open Studio artist-in-residence program at Struts Gallery & Faucet Media Arts Centre is made possible through support from the Canada Council for the Arts, The New Brunswick Department of Tourism, Heritage, and Culture, and the Sheila Hugh Mackay Foundation.
