Art in the Snug – Shannon Wardroper

Art at Hastings House

Shannon Wardroper is a Salt Spring artist who studied textiles and art history at Alberta College of Art in Calgary. She holds a Master’s degree in arts education from Simon Fraser University in Vancouver.

Shannon lived, studied, taught and exhibited in Japan, Thailand and the United Kingdom for over a decade. Her love of nature is reflected in her botanical imagery, culminating in repeat exhibits at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower show as well as the Museum of Garden History, London.

Doomscrolling and Three Seconds Series

In 2020, she began creating work focussed on the mental health issues caused by excessive use of screens and social media, and launched a series entitled Doomscrolling. Her current exhibit, Three Seconds, highlights the impact of social media reels on our attention span. While long-form journalism, printed books and even time in nature command a longer and more thoughtful engagement of our attention, fast media and social media have conditioned us to the 3-second story. The multiple layers and subjects of Wardroper’s textile pieces require the viewer to take time to unpack layers of colour, wax resist images of sea life and embroidered nature motifs. This series compels us to reclaim the joys of engaging deeply with art and to ask questions about the destruction of our environment and our loss of connection to beauty and the natural world.

A selection of works of art from the Three Seconds series was on display in the Snug at Hastings House September 5 – September 30. In tandem, Shannon’s exhibit The Beholders’ Share was held at Artcraft at Mahon Hall. To learn more about Shannon’s work, please visit www.saltspringgallery.com/shannon-wardproper or view her Instagram @shannon.wardroper.