City of Nanaimo announces the acquisition of Peter Achurch's "Sea Bed"

Artwork available for viewing at Vancouver Island Conference Centre

NEWS RELEASE - Distributed August 9, 2023 10:57 AM

Summary

The City of Nanaimo is thrilled to announce the acquisition of local artist, Peter Achurch’s artwork, “Sea Bed”. This is currently on display and available to be viewed by the public in the Vancouver Island Conference Centre front lobby.

“Sea Bed” was originally completed by the artist as a part of the City’s temporary public art program which offers artists of diverse backgrounds and skillsets the opportunity to create artwork for public spaces in Nanaimo.

“Sea Bed” is a large scale hand weaving composed of found materials, such as marine rope and cord once left as waste along B.C. shorelines. Woven into an armature made from a stripped down steel-spring mattress, discarded materials take centre-stage finding new life and artistic merit.

These repurposed items tell new tales echoing themes of our environment and local industry while inviting the viewer to be part of the artist’s journey and exploration of our coastline.

Recycling is at the core of Mr. Achurch’s practice. The collection of reclaimed materials used in the creation of this piece took place over the course of many years as the artist wandered B.C. shorelines. He notes that three elements of design drew him to working with these fragments; variety (colour, length and fiber of the marine rope and strings collected), environmental impact and the historical resonance as evidence of human fabrication. The rewards of the artist’s exploration of the coastline are present in the execution of the art piece from the suggestion of tides to the awareness of changing seasons and the ebb and flow of changing patterns on ocean waters.

Peter Achurch is an artist based out of Nanaimo. He studied at Emily Carr University of Art + Design, graduating with Honours from its Interdisciplinary Program. Peter enjoys working in varied ways, including graphic design and illustration for print media, design and art direction for electronic media, animation, prop and scene fabrication for TV and commercials, as well as showing his own work in exhibition. At this point in his career, he enjoys focusing on personally directed art projects.

Images of the work will be shared via the City of Nanaimo’s @prc_nanaimo Instagram account and can be found on the City of Nanaimo website.

Information about the City of Nanaimo’s Temporary Public Art Program can be found on the City of Nanaimo website.

Link to Strategic Plan: Nanaimo Reimagined: Recognize that public art is situated at the intersection of public life, cultural ideas, and the social conditions of our time. Encourage public art projects and programming to create memorable spaces and experiences, provide a sense of place and celebration, be a point of community pride, reflect the environment and history of the community, employ sustainable practices and enhance the environment and community resiliency, be accessible and freely available to everyone throughout the community to experience and enjoy.

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