The Pandemic Project

Bill Horne

This project captures the aspects of life faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the most impactful experiences in recent human history.

About the Exhibition

As one of the most impactful experiences in recent human history it was important for Two Rivers Gallery to document this experience.

In April 2020, Two Rivers Gallery invited Bill Horne & Claire Kujundzic, in Wells, BC; Cat Sivertsen in Prince George, BC; Jordan Schwab and Karla Griffin in Quesnel, BC and Catherine Blakburn, in Thornhill, BC to produce artwork that captured aspects of life faced during the COVID 19 pandemic.

Horne, Kujundzic and Sivertsen in response to the isolation of a world shut down reached out to people and communities pursuing human connection, support and collaboration. Schwab and Griffin developed a collaborative video work focused around their desire to visit parts of the world rendered inaccessible during the pandemic. Catherine Blackburn’s introspective work considered aspects of isolation and the precious companionship shared, often online, over cups of tea. While these works are born of personal experiences, each artist’s work is likely to resonate broadly with viewers. A year into the pandemic we can easily recognize a yearning for the human connection we previously took for granted, and the deep longing for the resumption of normalcy.

COVID Mail Art Series

Many governments have urged people to self-isolate to reduce the spread of COVID-19. I want to stay connected with friends. Why not screen print postcards on mat board? We have lots of off-cuts left over from picture framing.

An Abstract Print

I have time to make new prints this spring, because with less gallery visitors, we have fewer interruptions. What a fine opportunity to experiment – to see how I might generate new imagery by making multiple layers of stencils from a photo of a highly textured Poplar tree scar.

*Hindsight*, 2020
Oil on cradled birch panel
18” x 24”

Art in Solidarity

One way I can respond to news of anti-Asian assaults in the Vancouver area is to make some prints that evoke elements of the Cariboo’s Chinese history. Let’s visit the Chinese cemeteries in Stanley and in Barkerville to commemorate the Tiananmen Square massacre.

screen print with gold; wall in Barkerville Historic Town

Viruses

Portrait of Dr. William Allen Jones

Protests are erupting in the US and elsewhere since the police killing of Floyd George in Minneapolis. I find myself thinking about Dr. Jones, the first dentist licensed in BC. Another fundraiser?

Dr. Jones, 2020

A posterized Nicaraguan License Plate Print

The pandemic is complicating our lives, but many people are facing much graver risks. I keep thinking of people in Nicaragua whose government has pursued a denialist policy on Covid19. This is a good time to make a screen print with a Nicaraguan theme and make it a fundraiser for an NGO there.

About the Artist

Bill Horne

Born in Vancouver, Bill Horne studied painting and drawing at the Banff Centre and film animation at UBC. He works primarily in silkscreen, as well as assemblage and photography. He has taught silkscreen printing at the Vancouver Native Education Centre, Treaty 8 Tribal Association, and Island Mountain Arts, and papermaking at the National Art School in Nicaragua.

More about Bill

His work has been exhibited across Canada and he has taken part in residencies in Banff, Québec City, and Spain. Bill was the 2013 Recipient of CARFAC’s National Advocacy Award from and an Award of Excellence in the 2019 Tokyo Screen Print Biennale. He has lived with his partner and fellow artist, Claire Kujundzic for 25 years in Wells, BC in an old church called Amazing Space. They will be based in Victoria,BC after June, 2021.