Recreating the Wild/Nature (Un)Spoiled: Opening Reception

Gallery 1202 presents: Recreating the Wild/Nature (Un)Spoiled, a solo show by Yulia Shtern. Shtern is a Canadian Visual Artist, and a Scenic and Costume Designer for Theatre, Dance and Opera currently residing in Northern Italy. In this series, Shtern focuses on animals that are endangered, extinct or under threat and creates colorful, whimsical wall-mounted and free-standing sculptures. The medium of this series consists of post mass consumption up-cycled material: paper products, packaging, non-recyclable plastics, fabric leftovers, and other items that would have otherwise gone to a landfill, adhered with varnish glue. As her sculptures have unique mediums and methods, Shtern provides an enriching experience to her audience as she also displays her materials and process alongside her work.

"One of the biggest, ugliest truths of our time is that we have been knowingly destroying our planet and killing off its natural life in pursuit of the falsehoods promised by mass consumption. Displaying a trophy of a stuffed dead animal in one’s interior is an odd way of showing off one’s perceived affluence, or bravery, or honour. It is an absurd social construct of flaunting one’s status, especially today, in the context of the planet-wide ecological disaster we are living through."

Recreating the Wild/Nature (Un)Spoiled creates its own reality through the dualism of a colourful, whimsical representation of animals whose habitats have been destroyed by industrial expansion or deforestation. Shtern’s work aims to inspire action to stop this ongoing tragedy and offers an element of magic that provides hope for the recovery of our planet.

The opening reception will be held at our Gilroy gallery on February 5th from 6-9 pm with complimentary wine, music and hors d'oeuvres! Running through March 20th, there will be a closing reception from 12-3pm on the 20th. The exhibition will also be recorded in 3D and available online via Artland, and featured on Artsy.