Life’s Ebbe and Flow

Life’s Ebb and Flow artist residency was inspired by water and its movement through our everyday lives. The residency involved every class in the school and was developed in collaboration with the Green Infrastructure team from the City of Vancouver, which is creating new rain gardens in the school’s neighbourhood.

As part of the residency, intermediate students visited local rain garden sites that are being renovated as part of the City’s rainwater management strategy. These gardens collect rainwater flowing from streets during storms, helping prevent litter and debris from entering storm drains. Students also learned how the plants in the gardens absorb oils and chemicals that accumulate on roads, filtering toxins out before they can reach local waterways and oceans. The idea that these plants “take on” harmful substances in order to protect water systems became an important point of reflection throughout the project.

The rain gardens and their ecological role became the foundation for the installation artworks students created during the residency. After learning about the gardens, students photographed and drew them through detailed observation. These studies were then connected to the landscape designs of Roberto Burle Marx and the installation practice of Andy Goldsworthy. Inspired by these artists, students created temporary installations using natural materials, later incorporating fabric, light, and water into their work.

The installations were created within a one-hour class period and dismantled at the end of each session. For this reason, photography became an essential part of the process. Students used photography to document the changing forms, movement, and transitions of the materials and environments they created, emphasizing the temporary and evolving nature of the work.

With primary students, Rebecca has been specifically looking at how water transforms landscapes, big and small. In this residency we began by paying close attention to the natural environment just outside the school. We became acquainted with the trees, and plants surrounding the school through map making and observational drawing. Students oriented themselves to the natural landforms and waterways around Vancouver, such as the snow capped North Shore mountains that are visible from the school grounds. 

Students also explored two specimen boxes from UBC’s Beaty Museum of Biodiversity: the Seashore Box and the Ancient Life Box. They created detailed observational drawings of plants and animals that live in and around BC waterways. 

During these residencies, we were fortunate to work with Candice Halls, an indigenous knowledge holder from the Squamish Nation, who shared the Teachings of Water with students and teachers. These teachings helped us better understand how we live in relationship with water. From the gifts of the natural world we walk through everyday to the waters that held us in our mothers' bellies well before we took our first breaths and steps on this earth.