LYN WESTFALL
ARTIST
L'HISTOIRE by Lyn Westfall
Boarding House Arts - Lobby Gallery
November 3-15, 2014
November 3, 2014 - In remembrance of the 100th anniversary of the First World War, 1914-2014, Boarding House Arts will launch L'Histoire, an exhibition of work by visual artist Lyn Westfall.
An informal artist talk will take place daily at 3 pm during Remembrance Week. All are welcome to attend.
At the core of this exhibition is Lyn's major painting Dies Irae (Day of Anger), a powerful visual commemoration of WWII and the catastrophic events of 9/11 that features 84 names from the Runnymede War Memorial (including her father and his crew) and 84 names of those who died during the September 11th attacks. The painting is accompanied by the You Tube Video Indeed 'Dies Irae' is a 'Day of Anger.'
Describing the work, Lyn says:
"I have always wanted to create a 'war painting' of my own. My father, Flight Sergeant Wilfred W. Lavers RCAF, was killed in WWII while night flying over Germany in a Wellington bomber. I was only 3 months old when my father died and he never had a chance to meet me.
I was aware of other artists who chose the theme of war as subject matter in their paintings: e.g. Picasso's Guernica and Goya's The Third of May. However, it was not until the catastrophic events of 9/11, that I felt a strong urge to begin research and envision a painting on this theme.
The date of my father's death is listed as September 10, 1942. Could it have been the dawn of September 11th? His plane has never been found. The similarity of these two dates and their horrific content compelled me to link these events into one painting - a painting that is meaningful to me and sadly to many others."
The exhibition also features paintings from 1986-88 and drawings depicting the grief of losing a father so early in life. Child-like illustrations using a popsicle stick and ink with images of Lyn's dear friend and companion at that time, "Babar" and faceless soldiers are evident in these earlier works.
Together, the paintings, drawings and video presented in L'Histoire are deeply personal testimonies of war and conflict, and of loss and remembrance, and help to expand our visual understanding of the personal and national impact of these major events.
L'Histoire runs from November 3-15 in the lobby gallery at Boarding House Arts, 6 Dublin Street South, in Guelph. Gallery hours Tues- Fri 12-5 pm and Sat 9 am – 3 pm. Informal artist talk about L'Histoire daily at 3 pm during Remembrance Week (Nov 10-15) only.
Please join us to remember.
Lyn Westfall is a visual artist living in Guelph, Ontario. Born in Windsor, Ontario and raised in Sarnia and Point Edward, Lyn entered the religious order of the Sisters of Saint Joseph in London, Ontario, and remained a nun for 12 years. During this time she taught primary children, while studying Fine Arts at the University of Windsor. Her studies in Fine Arts continued when she left the order, attending the Banff School of Fine Arts, and sessional studies at York University, the Toronto School of Art and Guelph University. Lyn became a Visual Arts high school teacher while at the same time seriously pursuing her painting career. In 2011 and 2013 Lyn studied at the British Institute of Florence, Italy. Now retired from teaching, she continues her career as a visual artist in her new studio at Boarding House Arts.
Boarding House Arts is a non-profit organization with a mission to support and develop professional working artists by providing affordable studio space and professional development through the Arts Incubator, Arts Hothouse and Arts Patron Circle programs. Located in the restored, heritage designated, limestone building at the corner of Dublin and Waterloo Streets in downtown Guelph, Boarding House Arts is also home to a vibrant and diverse community of visual artists and arts organizations.
For further information, please visit www.lynwestfall.ca or Boarding House Arts on Facebook.
Media Contacts:
Lyn Westfall
Peregrine Wood