Alissa Kim Tjen

'Secret Garden B104'

Biliana Velkova

'Streak from the Eye of the King Fisher'

Artists Alissa Kim Tjen & Biliana Velkova bring to life fantastical creatures, scenes & visions through vibrant dream-like paintings.

Alissa Kim Tjen is a contemporary artist whose work explores impressions of the landscape based on her memories of places rather than accurate representation. Her current body of work explores what is beyond water - delving into the dualities of reflections & depth. Using acrylics for their ability to manipulate levels of opacity, Kim Tjen works in layers of bold colours & intuitive brush strokes to create dreamlike depictions of water where reflections merge with the ripples on the surface & what’s below. This joining of layers reflects her inner peace & reconciliation - a metaphor for her inner being.

Biliana Velkova’s work conflates storytelling, folklore & magic. Her practice incorporates painting, drawing & performance to explore the significance of diaspora, cultural symbols & Slavic tales. Through her Bulgarian lens, Velkova inserts a magical realism narrative by presenting alternative ways of viewing & interpreting reality. Through ancient folklore, Bilana Velkova invites us to delve into the past & connect with old creatures whose mythologies that once provided ancient communities with a way of understanding the world & their place within it.

Nikki Baxendale

'Spirit of the Silver Forest'

Majid Mohamadi

'Immigrants'

Photo based artists Nikki Baxendale & Majid Mohamadi turn their lenses to document the special places & creatures that comprise our vast world & our relationship to it. 

Nikki Baxendale is a West Vancouver based environmental artist. This collection A World Seen: Studies in Belonging, brings together photography, painting & mixed media from across her practice. Created through years of fieldwork in some of the world’s most fragile & extraordinary environments, these works move from oceans & forests to elephants bears, coastal wolves & the Arctic. Baxendale’s work begins with close observation. Time spent in the field, waiting quietly for an animal to reveal itself within its environment, becomes the starting point for each piece. Photography records the encounter. Painting & mixed media allow memory, emotion & interpretation to enter the conversation. Her subjects exist within complex systems of family, place, movement & survival. Together, these works explore connection between species, between generations, & between people & the natural world. At the heart of the exhibition sits a simple question: what changes when we stop seeing nature as something outside ourselves and begin to understand that we belong within it? 

Majid Mohamadi is a fine art photographer & commercial pilot based in West Vancouver. His journey as an artist comes from a deep love for nature & a lifetime of travel. As a pilot, his view of the world was shaped by flying over many different landscapes from vast prairies to the Pacific coast. On the ground, he connects with nature by backpacking & taking long hikes through deep forests, dry deserts & high mountains. His photos are quiet, simple & peaceful capturing the still moments he finds in the wild. Creating these works are his way to stand still, notice the quiet beauty of the world & share feelings that are hard to put into words. Mohamadi’s minimal, high-contrast imagery deconstructs traditional landscapes, transforming trees, clouds, & horizons into "inner landscapes" reflecting his impressions & experiences. Ultimately, his work is guided by a simple truth: we don't see things as they are, we see them as we are.