Kristin Sjaarda is a photographic, textile, and ceramics artist based in Toronto, Ontario, where she lives with her husband and three sons. She attended The Colorado Institute of Art in Denver, Colorado on a full tuition scholarship, graduating in 1994. Known for lush large scale still-life images of local flora and fauna from her garden and urban environment, she frequently collaborates with The Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto to include real specimens of birds in her arrangements. She has also designed silk scarves using her own imagery, taught workshops on floral arrangement and natural-light still life photography and designed her own ceramics for use in her photos. Sheridan College and the Ontario Science Centre have invited Kristin to lecture on the intersection of art and ecology. Her work has been collected internationally and a select portfolio has been published in CandyFloss Magazine (2021), Women United Art Magazine (2023) and Create Magazine (2023). In September, 2022 she was an Artist in Residence at Kingsbrae Gardens in New Brunswick, Canada, and in October, 2022 Smokestack Gallery in Hamilton, Ontario hosted her first Solo Show.
“This series of photographs takes as its the inspiration the paintings of the Dutch golden age which were created in the spirit of optimism for a new age of scientific discovery and exploration. The series I have created is offered as more of a cautionary tale that alludes to what we are losing in bird and plant diversity due to urban sprawl and the same march of progress that the Dutch championed in the 17th century. My photographs feature birds that have died during spring and fall migration due to window collisions with downtown office buildings. The birds have been collected and tagged by volunteers and used for research and artistic projects by the ROM's ornithology department. Mark Peck, Manager, Schad Gallery of Biodiversity, Royal Ontario Museum, has said that my photographs give the birds a “second life” as works of art.
I have paired the birds with the flowers that would be in bloom during migration. In this way, I am creating a portrait of a particular time and place that is both rooted and fleeting. I have often had to wait an entire year before I have the chance to use elements specific to season and location.
Detail: Peonies and Baltimore Oriole
This focus on local flora and fauna and its perservation is a pertinent one as climate change and urban sprawl threaten bird species everywhere -- making it a subject of both national and international discussion. By using modern photography that echoes a historic style of painting, I am matching a contemporary technique to a critical contemporary concern. My goal is to hook viewers with a compelling, dynamic image that tells a story about our relationship to nature in the city.”
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Contact Kristin here or email directly k.sjaarda@gmail.com
