Facing North: Jean Hay

July 21- August 21, 2021

“I must have known that it was everything I had been looking for. The silence, the clarity of the air, the startling purity of the colours, the beginnings of flora - lichens, grasses, mosses - as though the world was, once again, new.”   - Jean Hay

Jean Hay's work stems from her attachment to the land and the wonder it inspired in her. Visiting the Arctic in 1986 at the relatively advanced age of 66, the elemental qualities of the northern landscape resonated immediately. Drawn by the intricate beauty and fragility of life she found there, Hay would return many times, traveling to remote islands such as Ellesmere and Cornwallis. Here, she would pursue her interest in ecology, human migration and a geological sense of time and timelessness. The incredible vibrancy of the Arctic captured her creative spirit and drove her to visit many more times through the elaborate support system of the “Arctic Awareness” program within the Polar Continental Shelf Project. Hay stayed with scientists at research camps anywhere from two to four weeks, leaving camp in the morning after breakfast and walking solo through the vast landscape until evening. She took notes, photographed her surroundings and always took time to absorb the poetry and nuances of the environment. As a result, the paintings straddle the line of topographical studies and emotional documents of place. Hay took her last trip to the Arctic in 1995 at 75 years of age. She would continue to paint into her late 80s.

Jean Hay (1919-2012) was born in Renfrew, Ontario and spent a large portion of her adult life in London, Ontario. Her first career was in nursing, and after years of caring for her children and family, she attended the studio arts program at Western University.

Special thanks to Elizabeth and Alex Hay for their enthusiasm and support of the project; by providing access to their mother's images, journals, and sketches, the exhibition is greatly enhanced. Thank you also to scientist Antoni Lewkowicz for providing both ecological and creative insights and for the use of on-location photographs. 

Looking North is a collaborative project utilizing the permanent collections and resources of the Thames Art Gallery and the Judith and Norman Alix Gallery in Sarnia.