Catch these shows before they wrap up

First snow by Mong Yen

March 1, 2011
Coquitlam NOW (British Columbia, Canada)

Two exhibits currently on display at Coquitlam's Place des Arts wrap up this weekend, while a third continues through March 18.

The first features the works of Mong Yen. Originally from Cambodia, Yen and his family fled to Vietnam during the Khmer Rouge uprising in the mid 1970s before again being forced to flee, this time to Thailand. From there the family ended up in Toronto in 1980, before Yen moved to Metro Vancouver in 1992.

It's those experiences, and the places he's seen in between, that have helped shape his exhibit of watercolour and egg tempera paintings, Quiet Path, which will be shown through Saturday, March 5.

Joining Yen for the exhibit will be a pair of Coquitlam residents: photographer Daryl Spencer and watercolour painter Lori Motokado. Entitled The Essential Landscape, Spencer's exhibit consists of 38 black and white photographic prints combined into one vignette.

"The challenge in photography is often one of elimination," Spencer said in a press release. "The world is big. The world is cluttered. Creating The Essential Landscape is carefully focusing in from the clutter to find the elements of a scene that make it interesting, that evoke emotion, that capture the essence."

Taking her inspiration from the stories and personalities behind her subjects, Motokado's exhibit, Possessions, explores how we perceive things of value.

"Before society's current cycle of buy, replace and discard, things were built to last, were cherished, handed down and reused," she said. "This series explores various everyday artifacts to re-examine prevailing values; our worth is not based on what we own, rather it is our experiences and stories that give our possessions true value."

Possessions and Quiet Path run through Saturday, March 5, while The Essential Landscape will be on display until Friday, March 18.