Two West Coast artists, one behind the camera, the other behind the brush, are uniting for the first time to explore the role of art in environmental conservation.
Wildlife photographer and Pacific Wild co-founder Ian McAllister and Sooke-based painter Carole Finn have teamed up for Where the Ocean Meets the Rainforest, an exhibition running July 24 to Aug. 24 at the Goldfinch Art Centre in Colwood (170 Goldfinch Rd).
The show marks the first collaboration between the two, whose parallel careers have long focused on capturing and protecting B.C.’s coastal ecosystems.
“My passion ignited during a 2007 exploration of the Wild Pacific Trail,” said Finn, founder of Ontario’s Haliburton School of the Arts and recipient of the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Award. "Threatened by development, the trail was a calling for me to pick up the paintbrush and let the world know what was at risk of being lost."
Since then, her life's work – a vivid and meaningful collection of animal and nature paintings – has been West Coast inspired.
She was also deeply moved and inspired by McAllister's work, particularly after seeing his film Spoil at IMAX, which focused on B.C.'s Great Bear Rainforest.
"There, the Spirit Bear, grizzlies and wolves are all threatened by oil pipelines and cruel culling practices," Finn said.
A subsequent trip to that rainforest focused on painting a family of wolves, also photographed by McAllister.
For him, the rugged West Coast and wildlife have been just as much an inspiration to his life's work.
After visiting the Great Bear Rainforest in 1994, McAllister began studying and photographing the area. Years later, that work helped earn him and his wife the Time Magazine title Environmental Leaders of the 21st Century.
In 2007, the McAllisters founded Pacific Wild to raise awareness of conservation issues in the Great Bear Rainforest through visual storytelling, education and engagement.
While McAllister resigned as executive director of Pacific Wild in 2021, he remains committed to conservation efforts through directing IMAX films, and is also a fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers and the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.
After Finn reached out to him years ago, the two have remained in contact to this day. Yet, they have never met in real life, and won't until this exhibit.
"I’ve long admired Carole’s art – her deep sensitivity to nature and her remarkable ability to interpret it through her own creative lens," McAllister said. "It’s been especially meaningful to see my photography occasionally inspire her work ... In the ever-evolving world of visual storytelling, where art and conservation intersect in so many forms."
The two have a shared goal with the exhibit, he added.
"That it offers not only a celebration of the extraordinary beauty and ecological richness of the coast, but also a space for conversation – about the threats facing this region and the need to do more to protect the wildlife that depends on it."
McAllister's photographs will be on display, including recent work on herring spawns. On Aug. 21, he will give an artist talk from 7 to 8:30 p.m., discussing 30 years on the front lines of wildlife conservation photography and filmmaking.
Finn will run painting workshops on July 30, Aug. 6 and 13 at the gallery from 1-3:30 p.m.
"Ultimately, the project offers a new way of looking at conservation: through art that evokes emotion and fosters a deeper connection to the environment," Finn said. "I hope to inspire audiences not only to appreciate wildlife but to feel empowered to take action in preserving it."
