A new exhibit has opened at Sunbury Shores by well-known New Brunswick artist Ann Manuel.
The breathtaking display extends the length of the building on Water Street in downtown St. Andrews but is only a fraction of the entire piece.
It came to Manuel during the final moments she and her family shared with her father.
The breathtaking display extends the length of the building on Water Street in downtown St. Andrews but is only a fraction of the entire piece. (Nathalie Sturgeon/The Courier)
“In his last moments, the palliative care nurse called us in to just be close to him and breathe in and out with him,” she said in an interview. “That experience, although it was so painful, it was exquisitely painful, (was) profound. From that moment on, (I) wanted to work with breath.”
The art installation is designed to mimic a long inhale and exhale of breath.
“It’s like this inhale of all your memories, and then this slow, long, meandering exhale, which is also the same pattern of breathing for the parasympathetic, like a calming breath.”
In total, there are 4,000 pieces to the installation made of drafting film of different sizes. It also includes seedpods and dandelions representing Manuel’s mother.
“When she was dying, one of her last wishes was for me to collect the seed pods from her garden,” she said.
She said during the process of losing her father, she realized your life is really measured in breaths.
“It’s the beginning, the middle, and the end, and your whole life is in those breaths,” Manuel said.
It has taken her many years to bring the project from start to finish, she explained, having gone through the pandemic while making this installation.
“I get goosebumps when I think about it,” she said.
Sunbury Shores is an art gallery located on Water Street in Saint Andrews. (Nathalie Sturgeon/The Courier)
The idea blossomed in 2002 and over time has been in both Fogo Island and the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton. However, Manuel said her dream was always to display it at Sunbury Shores.
“When I came in, I felt a peace in here,” she said. “And it was at that point, long before me thinking about these little bits and pieces, I thought of an ascending garden in here, and it would be a place of peace.”
The exhibit opens on Jan 17 and runs until Feb. 23 and is accompanied by a film by Matthew Brown in the Sunbury Shores Art Gallery at 139 Water Street.
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