SPOILER ALERT: We will be making further productions of Lake of the Strangers in the future so if you weren’t able to make it out to one of the theatrical performances in early 2019 and wish for the plot to remain a mystery, please don’t continue reading!
We’re elated to be introducing you to another dedicated Edmonton-based artist and their enthralling response to our Indigenous one-man show, Lake of the Strangers.
A multidisciplinary performer, production designer, and visual artist, this month we introduce: Larissa Pohoreski!
Named as one of the Alberta Council for Ukranian Arts Top 30 Under 30 for her diverse skillset and contributions to Alberta’s Ukranian art community, Larissa lives and breathes creativity. Whether it be through her visual art featured in places like the Art Gallery of Alberta and Latitude53, or performance art as a vocalist, dancer, or musician, Larissa’s life is filled to the brim with creative expression and we couldn’t be more grateful that she shared some of that with us.
Larissa hopes her piece on birch panel, a true homage to our play’s setting in the Alberta bush, inspires you to create your own stories and reimagine your relationship with the natural world that we’re all a part of.
What moment or moments from Lake of the Strangers did you respond to with your artwork and why?
I was drawn to the animal imagery of the show, as well as the celestial qualities of the sky. I enjoyed the playfulness of Hunter’s performance and the feeling of adventure. Tessa Stamp’s set design was compelling in its simplicity as well as its natural beauty, and I wanted to respond through an equally simple and earthy visual.
What medium did you choose and what was the inspiration for that decision?
I chose to work with a mix of charcoal, ink, acrylic and gold ink on birch panel.
I knew immediately that I wanted to create a piece on birch, as a connection to nature — so much of the story took place in the forest, it made sense for me to work with the wood.
Charcoal was chosen for a similar reason; I started the piece working directly with willow charcoal as a natural drawing medium.
How did you approach creating this work both technically and artistically?
Before picking up any drawing medium, I went on a walk through Edmonton’s beautiful river valley. Watching the light and listening to the sounds of the forest helped place me in the right creative mindset. Technically, I knew that I wanted to preserve as much of the original birch wood as possible in the artwork. This limited me in my approach to illustrating the figure of the bear. I chose to use charcoal for the shading, to allow the wood to come through, rather than painting in the entire figure and masking the natural quality of my canvas.
What do you hope people take away after experiencing your piece?
Much of my work is created with a sense of play. I hope that audience members (of the show and of the visual art alike) leave with a renewed sense of play, and with an appreciation and connection to the natural world. I hope they are inspired to create their own stories, spend more time with nature, and reimagine their relationships and understanding of the animal world.
Some art revolves around the creation of one piece or experience. In joining the creative journey with Lake of the Strangers, can you share your experience in creating an artistic response alongside the show?
I am very much compelled by the idea of mythology and the practice of myth-making. Prior to working alongside Lake of the Strangers with my artistic response, I had questions myself as to “what qualifies a story as myth? How are myths created? Why is it that some myths survive millennia?” and a deep appreciation for oral story-telling, and oral histories. The experience of creating a piece of art inspired by the show was both limiting and extremely open-ended. There were so many visuals through the show, that I had difficulty narrowing my vision and maintaining my core plan of simplicity.
I would be very interested in trying my hand at a few different pieces, inspired by new imagery and working in a variety of mediums.
I am also curious to see the show again through new eyes. Now that I’ve experienced the story a first time, what else can I learn? What other images jump out at me? Have I remembered the story as it was told to me the first time, or has it taken on a new life in my memory and imagination?
If you’d like to learn more about Larissa and her work you can visit her website, check out her Facebook pages here or here, or follow her on Instagram here or here.
For other posts in this series, you can visit the Iskotew: Our Circle page on our blog and to hear from the extraordinary person who made this Reflection Ceremony and all of its creations possible you can click here.
