Local Oakville artist, Joanna Turlej had one of her pieces chosen for an international art exhibition in Rovereto, Italy that is supported by UNESCO. The show, "Human Rights? #H2O" will be up until September 21, 2017. The exhibit is organized by the AIAPI (Associone Internazionale Arti Plastiche Italia).
The show organizers asked artists to use the concept of water as vehicle to illustrate basic human rights, and demonstrate it in an original as well as concrete way.
We as a species cannot exist with out water, thereby making it a human rights issue.
A total of 161 original pieces of art were chosen which represent 30 nations.
Joanna Turlej's chosen "Human Rights? #H2O" work of art is titled "Arctic Beauty".
Joanna describes this work in the following way, “Due to global warming, the Arctic ice is melting at an alarming rate, threatening the livelihood of people, plants and animals. As a Canadian, I feel strongly motivated to support the rights of Indigenous Peoples living in the Arctic and the habitat they rely upon.
“My paper collage painting “Arctic Beauty” reflects a great need of water for the vegetation to sustain its role in a food chain. It shows a desperate adaptation for the vegetation to reach it through a crack in ice, by growing an extra long root to achieve it’s goal.”
Joanna Turlej uses the medium of environmentally friendly paper collage on canvas as a way to paint the beauty of the Canadian landscape.
Joanna was born in Warsaw, Poland. Her father, an art professor, was her first mentor. She moved to Canada when she was 20, and is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD University). For the past 25 years, Joanna has been a full-time artist. She moved to Oakville in 2003 after she and her husband decided to downsize from their home in Lorne Park.