There are many layers to the works in Dreamscapes, one of three new exhibitions this fall at the Old School House Arts Centre (TOSH).
Dreamscapes features a selection of artwork by the late Phil Harrison, who found inspiration on his adopted home of Hornby Island.
The exhibition has been curated by his daughter Emily Harrison, who says the paintings contain many hidden images, such as ships or figures.
“They’re nautical landscapes, maybe, but within them there’s other sort of portals to new worlds," Emily said. “So it’s very dreamy or imaginative. The more you look at it, the more things you’ll find in each piece."
The exhibition includes paintings, drawings, a page out of Phil's sketchbook and even a model boat.
“I chose that model boat because it sort of looks like another image that I see in one of the paintings I wanted to include in the show," Emily said, and added that a curator’s job is to find relationships between pieces and, "bring everything together into a conversation."
Phil Harrison (1942–2022) was raised in logging camps in the Port Alberni area. He attended Vancouver Art School (now known as Emily Carr University) and Slade School of Art in London before moving to Hornby Island in 1972, according to the TOSH website.
He grew up spending time on boats and worked on the ferry boat between Hornby Island and Denman Island for more than 30 years.
"Hornby Island was such an influence on him," Emily said. "He moved to Hornby in the early 70's and I think fell in love with it and never wanted to leave because it is such an inspiring landscape."
The island's geography is a constant in the works, combined with themes from Phil's imagination and subconscious. Most of the paintings in the Dreamscapes selection were made while he lived in a one-room shack above the shores of Big Tribune Beach, according to TOSH.
“There’s hidden symbolic imagery found in each painting,” Emily said. “Sort of imaginary worlds, you get a glimpse of them."
Some of Emily's favourite pieces in this show are drawings she found in the attic she had never seen before.
“It was neat going through those and presenting, being able to share them with the public," Emily said. "And also it was fun to share those with people on Hornby in the summer too, with the bigger retrospective."
Emily followed in her father's footsteps and became an artist in her own right. She has also curated several exhibitions on Hornby Island, including a retrospective of her father's work.
“I think my dad’s dream worlds and his creative mind has been a huge influence on me and I’m also really interested in like surrealism and psychedelia," she said. “Definitely some of my dad’s aesthetic tastes have rubbed off on me.”
Dreamscapes will be on display at TOSH (122 Fern Rd. W) until Nov. 1. The arts centre is also hosting two other exhibitions, the TOSH members' show Archipelago and Otium by Roy Langhorst.
