Yvonne Vander Kooi

Yvonne Vander Kooi's art practice has embraced community, collaboration, education, public art and studio work. Born and raised in Ontario, she received her BFA in Michigan, and has lived in Toronto and Vancouver. She currently lives in Nanaimo with her family and two dogs. She has participated in numerous group shows and in public art projects here on the island and has work in private and corporate collections. She currently works as the Art Education Coordinator at the Nanaimo Art Gallery. Yvonne's work invites us to consider stories about people, places, and movement that are both personal and universal.

Passage: This body of work explores significant elements of my family history and our particular adaptation to the universal challenges posed by war, loss and emmigration.  Drawing on personal memories as well as imagery sourced from old black and white photos, the paintings expand on suggested narratives and the stories my family have told along the way. The work considers shifting perceptions of the past and how stories can change as they are shared in the present.
The creation of this work involved research and exploration and opened up new understandings about my family and how we have responded to life challenges across time and place. Translating the image from photo to canvas raises questions both for myself and the viewer. In this way the story is somewhat altered while remaining anchored by the basic facts of who, when, and where.  
This content along with formal explorations in the studio allows me to bend the narrative, explore possibilities, and shape perception. Through experimentation, evocative imagery emerges as the palette shifts and changes. The surfaces are worked, layered, scuffed, scraped, and stained adding complexity and visual interest. A balance of figurative and abstract elements, along with a sensual use of color, creates work that I hope is vibrant and contemporary and speaks imaginatively to the past and present.
This series honors the important people, places and events that have shaped my own world view while contributing to my own interpretation and perspective. My research into the history of Dutch colonization in Indonesia has allowed for a broader context in which I can more fully understand my family’s response to war, displacement and eventual migration to Canada.  I have thought about the trauma and stress that my family carried to Canada and how this shaped my experience as a first generation Dutch immigrant.  Human populations, propelled by our most basic instincts, are on the move again in huge numbers. I am a part of that and so are these paintings.