Street Photography by Denis Bouvier

Part of the VanDusen Botanical Garden’s Touch Wood exhibition, Nine Sentinels stand guard protecting their inner circle from intruders. They are nine beautifully preserved eight foot tall and two and a half foot wide wood shells salvaged from rotting maple logs. The inner part of the shells has been sanded to an almost white effect while those facing outward have been left in their natural raw state. The gnarls in the wood look forbidding and heighten the effect of being fierce guardians.

Nine Sentinels was created by North Vancouver artist Brent Comber, one of several of his works in the exhibition. There are 12 B.C. artists with more than two dozen works being showcased throughout the gardens as well as in the Visitor’s Centre. The works are reflective of VanDusen’s environmental mandate in that they are constructed from salvaged, recycled or scavenged wood. Wood is important in B.C. both economically and environmentally. It has been fundamental to the daily and spiritual life of the First Nations people of B.C.. All the participating artists have been inspired by B.C. forests and are sensitive to their preservation. They have transformed “found” wood to give it an artistic expression in a more natural environment. The setting becomes an integral part of the installation, especially with the changing play of light in the gardens. It’s a joyful experience to be stimulated by the interplay of nature and art in the Touch Wood Exhibit.

Brent Comber is well known in Canada and his art using B.C. West Coast wood has been displayed from New York to Dubai to Shanghai.

Touch Wood is currently showing until September 30, 2013. It was curated by Celia Duthie and Nicholas Hunt of the Duthie Gallery on Salt Spring Island.

To view more of Brent Comber’s work, visit: http://www.brentcomber.com. For more information, visit: www.vandusengarden.org.

Don Richardson