Richmond BC, Canada #richmondartgallerybc
Guided by their interest in place, belonging, and home, Cat Hart’s exhibition Material Remains explores the layered histories of Mitchell Island and Steveston through experimental film photography. Using double exposures, Hart brings together images of plant life—both native and invasive—with remnants of early industry and contemporary sites of heavy industry and waste processing, highlighting ecologies that persist amid ongoing human intervention.
Mitchell Island, once a tidal marsh filled with cattails, sedges, and salt grass, was converted to agricultural land after colonization and is now dominated by industries such as auto-wrecking and cement production. One of the earliest settlements in the Lower Mainland, Steveston sits on the site of a former Musqueam fishing village, where Indigenous fishing practices were replaced by increasingly industrialized approaches that contributed to overfishing, pollution, and the loss of wetlands.
Hart’s method reflects an openness to curiosity and chance shaped by site-specificity. During a walk around Mitchell Island last year, they first exposed the back side of a roll of film, a technique known as redscale that gives the resulting photographs a deep red tint. Months later, during their residency at Branscombe House, they re-exposed the front of the same roll while exploring Steveston and the south arm of the Fraser River. The resulting pairings—industrial landscapes layered with wetlands and plant life—reveal stark contrasts in how these neighbouring sites have evolved and how they are remembered. Through this process of layering time and place, Hart invites viewers to slow down and consider what images might connect across time, and what meanings can emerge from these unexpected encounters.
— Rebecca Wang 王晨釔
Biography
Originally from the UK, Cat Hart has lived on the unceded and stolen homelands of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skxwú7mesh (Squamish) & səlilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples in Vancouver for the past 20 years. Using experimental photography, wild clay, and other land-based methods, their work explores memory, place, migration, and biodiversity. Influenced by Indigenous teachings about good land relations, alongside the deepening climate crisis, Hart seeks to develop a site-responsive, ecologically accountable art practice. Hart’s work has been shown at Contemporary Calgary, Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery, and the City of Vancouver’s Launchpad Public Art program. They hold a Master’s degree in Communications from Simon Fraser University, and a diploma in Fine Arts from Langara College.
The City Hall Galleria is located on the ground floor of Richmond City Hall, 6911 No.3 Road, Richmond
Hours: Monday – Friday: 8:15 am – 5:00 pm, except on public holidays
