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Pan-Pacific photographers at the MAC in February

Watercolourist also posthumously featured in third gallery
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Gouchen Wang is one of two photographers who will exhibit at the McMillan Arts Centre in February.

Nature will be a common thread in many of the photographs exhibited by Roxy Hurtubise and Gouchen Wang at the McMillan Arts Centre next month. However, don’t expect to see two galleries of the same images.

“The great thing about photography is that nobody takes the same pictures,” said Hurtubise. “Some people can’t see what others see.”

In her exhibit Outdoor Images for an Indoor World, Hurtubise will explore the natural side of Vancouver Island. “My husband and I really enjoy travelling the Island,” she said, calling the area her “passion.” The full-time photographer, who owned the Roxy WallHanger gallery in Parksville from 2010-2012, said she ventures out every day to capture the images of wildlife, beaches, parks and more.

“I’m so attracted to nature. It changes daily,” she said. And while she’ll keep the “natural look” in most of her photographs, Hurtubise also said that she didn’t hesitate to digitally manipulate a handful of images. “There’s always a few I want to play with,” she said.

Wang, who came to Canada from China in 2012 to study film and videography at UVic, also altered some of his photographs in post-production. In his series My World, he will present his own style of semi-abstract landscapes, saying he manipulates the images in order to create “a different world.”

Wang will have a total of three series in his part of the show at the MAC. In What are they thinking, he returns to nature and attempts to capture emotions and personal stories in wildlife.

“I try to stay with the wildlife for a long time,” he said, explaining he waits to capture “their moment” and thus tell as story.

His final series, The Absence of Colour, has a more human aspect. This a photographic documentary depicts his visit to northern China, an area rarely seen by tourists, in 2012. While the images are all black and white, the name of this exhibit speaks more about Wang’s feelings about the experience. “I think their lives are struggled. I can’t (see) any colour,” he said.

February will also see watercolourist Jae Bok Lee posthumously featured in the Concert Gallery. “His wife wants to do this show in his honour,” said Linda Matteson-Reynolds, administrator at the MAC.

According to a news release, his series Reflection features monochrome paintings that address our relationship to the world, while another series explores the idea of living in a world where creationism and evolution could co-exist peacefully, “where water drops on sand could take their shape and not be absorbed.”

There will be an opening reception on Feb. 7 from 1-3:30 p.m. Everyone is welcome to drop in and enjoy complimentary treats and beverages.