The natural environment plays a significant role in the art of Luke Ramsey, from his vibrant murals — which grace buildings and landmarks around Victoria — to the multicoloured orcas and bears that populate his acrylic paintings.
But the City of Victoria’s former artist-in-residence also has a deeply ingrained relationship with technology. Several of his creations have appeared in The New York Times, accompanying editorials about computers and their awkward marriage with humankind. “I wouldn’t say I have a hatred for [technology], but having grown up before the Internet became a big thing, and living those two different experiences, I guess I have a nostalgia for the way things were,” Ramsey said.
The self-taught 41-year-old moved from Victoria to a woodsy spot in Powell River two years ago, and his desire to work remotely means he depends on computers, and the data storage and connectivity they provide, for survival.
Ramsey uses “the cloud” for support, to store and transfer digital versions of his work, while simultaneously painting clusters of clouds outside the windows of his studio in Powell River, where he lives with his wife.
That dichotomy is at the heart of Real Cloud, his fourth solo exhibit for the Madrona Gallery. Twenty pieces he created in the past 18 months will be on display at the gallery until Sept. 26, offering a reflection of his time in Powell River.
“It has a lot to do with being an artist and sharing a lot of content on the digital cloud, constantly uploading to this never-ending, fleeting feed,” Ramsey said. “I don’t want technology influencing me too much, but it’s hard to not think about uploading something to social media and knowing that somebody is going to be looking at that piece of art on their phone. I like to have an awareness of technology and the negative effects it has, but living in Powell River and being a working artist, the Internet is amazing. You don’t want to bite the hand that feeds.”
The Victoria-raised muralist, illustrator and painter has explored art and its relationship with a variety of environments throughout his career, beginning with his street-art creations as a teenager. Though he had some supportive teachers at Claremont Secondary, art school didn’t interest Ramsey.
Instead, he spent time in the city’s punk community, whose DIY approach and collaborative nature has been a constant presence in his work. Canadian cartoonist Marc Bell was an early mentor, he said, but it wasn’t until he returned to Victoria after teaching English in Taiwan that he began to pursue art as a full-time career, having earned his first mural commission from a toy store there.
Ramsey spent nine years on Pender Island, which is when the now-identifiable colours and content of his work came to the fore (iconic landscape painter Ted Harrison, Ramsey readily admits, is a huge influence).
Several of Ramsey’s notable murals around the city, including ones gracing the running track at Oak Bay high school, Gonzales Park, Vic West Park, Hollywood Park and the Dallas Road turret/stairwell near Cook Street, are awash in West Coast imagery. Those same themes are evident in his window graphics and prints for Tall Tree Health, a James Bay clinic, his vinyl wrap for the front of Cook St. Liquor, and a series of murals on the six-floor parkade of the Bengal Centre in Vancouver, his largest project to date.
Real Cloud will merge his audiences — those who know him from his murals and those familiar with his paintings — under one roof.
“What I like about having exhibitions is that it’s an opportunity for people who are familiar with my murals, my public work, to have a piece of it in their homes. I like that I have work that’s accessible to the public, and I like that there’s work for people to support the arts in another way. I’m grateful to have work in different areas.”
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