Figs, 2021

Figs and snails each carry with them a long resume of appearances throughout history. The snail has been used in art as a representation of mortality and slowing down, power and gender, and observation of natural environments. Salvador Dali described Freud’s mind to be like a snail-hard on the outside, soft on the inside, and spiralling inward to the secrets at its core. Figs are often associated with eden, their leaves used to cover nakedness, and at the same time in greek and roman mythology are associated with sexual desire and the god of drunkenness  and wine. A number of people have directed me to fig wasps lately as these tiny insects and their unusual life cycle inside the fruit seem to be the latest internet fascination. I spent hours tending to this set in hopes of catching one emerging from my figs, but had no such luck. 

Splitting her practice between British Columbia and Mexico City, Whitney Lewis-Smith works primarily with 8x10 dry plate photography and elaborate studio sets. She continues to examine Biophilia, a term coined by renowned psychologist Erich Fromm, describing how humans possess an innate tendency to seek connection with nature and other non human forms of life.

As of 2008, The United Nations stated that more than half of the world’s population lives in cities and the average pre-teen recognizes more video game characters than common wildlife. Drawing on this global shift, Lewis-Smith uses her practice to contemplate the possible evolutionary mutations for humanity and our changing relationship with the natural world.

Lewis-Smith documents what today can easily be amassed in the flesh, highlighting how globalization impacts the way we interact with the world around us. By depicting scenes that will one day become an impossibility, Lewis-Smith asks the viewer to recognize our current time as a passing moment. With a background in scientific fieldwork, her participation in various expeditions and access to museum collections (The Museum of Natural History in Puebla, Mexico, museum of nature, Ottawa) became a catalyst in her ability to create large format tableaus.

Most recently, Whitney made a dramatic transition shifting the majority of her studio work from Mexico City to remote British Columbia, Canada. During this time, she was invited to live and work as artist in residence at Nimmo Bay resort in The Great Bear Rainforest. Amidst this transition she also lost her father. At Nimmo Whitney began exploring the ways in which human beings find connectedness and a sense of home. She also aided in cultural and scientific research with the First Nations guardian program and continues to do so. These ideas were the early beginnings that developed into concepts for this current body of work, The Overview.

Collectors in Canada and abroad include Global Affairs Canada, The Honourable Canadian Prime minister Justin Trudeau’s collection, SUMMA Art Fair Madrid, the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Maison Simon’s collection, and the Ottawa City’s Public Art collection. Lewis-Smith studied Studio Arts at Concordia University focusing on drawing and sculpture.