Icy Slices
Wendy Kwan
Perched upon the coast of the Pacific Ocean, Vancouver is a city on the edge. The great ocean influence yields winters that often teeter between freeze and thaw. As the balance tips, we experience a wild array of outcomes. Icy Slices explores the thin line that can be drawn at the point around zero Celsius.
The damp cold of winter in Vancouver can cut through layers and leave a long lasting wet chill. Sometimes, caught between an “arctic outflow” and the “pineapple express”, we permeate the dull grey, and uncover a sparkly layer beneath the surface. A skiff of snow, a fragile crystal, water frozen in a handy crevice, all these features frequently jewel the urban landscape of our “lower mainland”, as we mark the passage of short days and long nights.
In Icy Slices, an ongoing body of work, I explore the features of Vancouver’s unique winter climate, and attempt to draw the jewels to the surface.
