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we are not separate – kelly haydon

This is a poster advertising a show of artwork by kelly haydon. In plain black text in the top left corner is the show’s title: WE ARE NOT SEPARATE. Below, smaller lettering reads: “opens May 6, 2022, 102-329 Cumberland Ave, Winnipeg, and aanm.ca/online-exhibitions”. The poster’s aesthetic consists of layered slices from kelly haydon’s various prints. In the top image, the head and shoulders of a snowy owl is visible, white and black against a rose-coloured background. Directly below is a slim slice of another print consisting of some nonsensical typewritten text, and a short zipper. The third image ‘layer’ is the largest; against a dusty grey backdrop, a delicate white tree grows upwards from the stomach of a white figure prone on the ground. kelly haydon’s name in large black text is positioned against the tree trunk. The figure appears to be lying on the next image slice, a black and white brick office building against an azure sky. The final, bottom image, is a print of a black and white brick building against a yellow background, with a herd of black bison silhouettes ambling by in the foreground. The logos of Arts AccessAbility Network Manitoba and Canada Council for the Arts are in the bottom corner.

bio

This is a black and white photo of kelly haydon. kelly is smiling at the viewer and stands casually against a backdrop of dense foliage. kelly appears to be a white person, with short blonde hair and black-rimmed glasses.I am a self-realized visual artist based on unceded xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ Lands (Vancouver) whose primary focus is painting and printmaking, with a dash of bookmaking thrown in. The work has garnered awards, been held in collections, projected onto buildings, published in books and journals as well as being exhibited nationally and internationally.

Having a physical disability has led me to experience life at a much slower pace. I reside in a place of stillness where connections that are otherwise obscured by busyness can be experienced. My art is informed by this quiescence.

My art process is dependant on the fluctuating state of my body. During low functioning times smaller work such as bookmaking or drawing will be done while during a “good” spell larger paintings or printmaking will be the focus. And of course, there are the numerous fallow times when I am not able to work at all. My art practice rotates around this circle of painting/printing/staring at the ceiling/bookmaking/drawing.

Art is a way for me to BE in the world and to honour life. My print and painting subjects revolve around my passions:

the natural world that surrounds and holds us

the earth under our toes

the women that shake the world

the kaleidoscope of colour

and the mathematics of connection

artist statement

The exhibition consists of etchings, silkscreen and relief prints that are gathered around the idea that we are not separate from the natural world. Threaded through the works is a life long yearning for a more balanced world that holds every voice and cherishes all living beings. In these images the natural world and our internal world comingle, evoking feelings, questions and wonderment.  Some of the work concerns societal issues, some portray psychological states, while others are pure whimsy. The figurehead is not a portrait, self or otherwise but rather a stand in for mother earth, the cosmos, our inner landscapes or consciousness.

The work has evolved over many years, in part due to disability related interruptions (Art interuptus!) Although frustrating, it has allowed for a slow, gentle, considered approach to the work.

I hope that after viewing this exhibition you will begin to see more connections in our inner and outer worlds and be reminded of different ways of being.

Some works are available for purchase, please contact info@aanm.ca to inquire.  

This is a line-drawing print, black on cream. A young female faces us, looking slightly towards the left, with a thoughtful, quizzical expression. Her short hair is in pigtails. Her neck has a dark honeycomb pattern on it. The top of her head is cut off, at the forehead. From inside her skull, a swarm of small infinity symbols emerges like honeybees.
the infinity keeper 5″ x 6″ 2011 etching aquatint chin colle $150
This is a simple line drawing print, black on grey. A young woman with wavy dark hair faces us, looking towards the left. Her head is flattened at the crown, and on that flat field are small farm buildings: barns, sheds, and a granary.
inescapable 5″ x 6″ 2011 etching aquatint $150
Front and centre of this etching is a girl’s white face, eyes look toward us. Her face is simple, plain, made with sketchy black lines. There is no shading or depth. Instead of a mouth, there is a zipper, closed. Her hair is in pigtails, made with simple black lines. The background is a chaotic layering of typewritten text - sentences are unintelligible.
hypertext 5″ x 6″ 2010 etching aquatint chin colle $150 – This print speaks to the silencing that is endemic in our society. In a hypertextual milieu the more quiet, slow, contemplative, and poetic voices tend to get buried.
This etching is calm, peaceful. On a simple grey background, we see the body of a woman from the side, simple and white, lying on the ground. Her face is featureless. Below her is a pool of water, indicated by small lines of waves. Growing from her stomach is a young tree, with white teardrop leaves delicately framing each of its branches.
life source 5″ x 6″ 2006 etching aquatint chin colle $150
Through her pain and disbelief, she beseeches us to stop. This is a print, black on cream. A female with short pigtails looks at us with an anxious/defiant expression. The top of her head is missing, replaced with a stand of trees, vulnerable but resiliently growing up out of her skull. The drawing style is sketchy, using simple lines.
untitled I 5″ x 6″ 2005 etching aquatint chin colle $150 – When I look at this piece I think of mother nature on the brink of collapse with only one stand of trees remaining. Through her pain and disbelief she beseeches us to stop.
This is a print of a black on cream line drawing. A girl with shoulder-length plain hair looks out and to the left, with a contemplative look. Atop her head is a bird's nest, with 3 eggs. From the top corner of the image, a bird is in flight, wings stretched back and feet thrust forward, about to land on the nest.
possibility 5″ x 6″ 2014 etching aquatint chin colle $150
This is a print of a line drawing, black on cream. From the lopped-off top of someone's head, a tangle of arrows and ladders emerges erratically. The eyes of the person are wide and wild, staring blankly out of the picture but not making eye contact with us.
untitled II 5″ x 6″ 2019 etching aquatint chin colle $150
This quiet but joyful print shows 3 figures figure-skating atop the lopped-off skullcap of a sleeping person. They are brilliantly illuminated by a single streetlamp in the centre, casting a triangle of light over them. The sky is black and punctuated with stars. A stand of trees circling the scene is bathed in light on their inner sides, cast in shadow on their backs.
winter dreams 6″ x 5″ 2014 etching aquatint $150
This print is a drawing, black on white, with turquoise aquatint colorization. In the centre, against a blue sky, a billowy pine tree grows from the crown of a human head that is part of a rocky land formation. The tree roots gather up streams of water that serve as hair, falling on either side of the face in waterfalls, into a sea.
head waters 4″ x 7″ 2022 etching aquatint $150 – From above, the earth’s waterways are reminiscent of the human vascular system with waterways as the planet’s veins and arteries and trees the capillaries. When we extract water for irrigation, power, bottling or our many other uses it would be nice to remember that water is the earth’s life support and proceed accordingly. Gently, circumspectly or not at all.
This print is grey/black on tan, with a heavy, hazy feel. Against a somber, cloudy sky, a lone figure leans into pulling a rope which attaches 6 heavy-looking, rectangular shapes
strength 7″ x 2″ 2015 etching aquatint chin colle $125 – This print articulates the strength required to live life with a disability where everyday activities often become Herculean efforts.
From the base of this print rises an organic, plant-like shape, decorated with sketched berries/seeds in black ink. The green shape advances upward, reaching into a sandy, barren expanse.
reweaving 6″ x 7″ 2012 etching $175 – reweaving: mending the world’s torn fabric
This bold graphic print depicts a gigantic cat, perched atop a towering brick office building, so large that it covers the entire roof. The cat stares intently towards the ground, eyes wide. The sky is deep red. The cat and buildings are black on grey.
urban tiger 6″ x 8″ 2010 linocut $175
Perched jauntily atop the entryway of a squat church is a giant chicken, tail up and alert, 1/3 the size of the church. A small group of people mill about in front of the church doors, seemingly unperturbed. The sky is dim lilac. The bird and building are black on grey.
church chicken 8″ x 11″ 2012 linocut $225
This is a print of a heritage office building, brick, with ornamental brickwork arches at its top and rickety retail windows at street level. The building is black and white, against a teal sky. A giant raven sits on the roof - about a story and a half in size - crowing gleefully to the side, beak agape. On the sidewalk below, the unhurried silhouette of a person walks towards the building.
raven divide 6″ x 14″ 2012 linocut $225
This is a print of a heritage office building, brick, with ornamental arched windows at its top and rickety retail windows at street level. The building is black and white, against a sunflower yellow sky. A giant bison stands on the roof head turned towards us - about half the size of the building itself. His coat is furry and his horns sharp. On the sidewalk below, an unhurried herd of small bison ambles away from the building, their heads bowed towards the earth.
dominion 9.5″ x 18″ 2016 linocut $350 – A bison stands on the Dominion building. The Canadian Dominion was built on resource extraction including the killing of millions of animals for the fur trade. This included the slaughter of the bison to the point where, in 1880, only 116 of the original 30 million were left. The eradication of the bison was also a tool used in the genocide of indigenous peoples. I dream of a time when the world is rebalanced and the bison return.
Against a warm pink background is the black and white print of the upper body of a person with their hands in front of their face. Startlingly, a giant snowy owl is perched atop the person’s hands, obscuring their face entirely, so that in effect the face is replaced by owl. The owl’s head is swiveled backwards, its even gaze is affixed somewhere over the viewer’s shoulder. The black and white markings of its feathers provide an interesting visual texture that draws attention.
feathered thoughts 9″ x 12.5″ 2013 serigraph $225
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2 Comments

  1. Penny Parry

    Kelly,

    What an incredible range of provocative images – my mind rested on each one and began by itself to be drawn to a particular detail and to appreciate the boldness of your imagery. You have a lot to express woman!

    This was just my first wander through – I will definitely be going back again over the next week.

    Thanks so much Kelly – someday I want to see these and more of your work in person.

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