Sovereignty
34 x 29.75 in (86.4 x 75.6 cm) including frame
""In the summer of 1994 I remember walking down the gang plank of the Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker, Louis St Laurent and walked onto the sea ice at the North Pole. I was a ship's artist on an arctic expedition accompanied by the US science teams on the USCGS polar sea. An historic joint US and Canadian scientific mission to study the effects of global warming. Serendipitously, we met up with the Russian nuclear icebreaker, Yamal. It was a surreal experience to freely walk on the sea ice to each icebreaker, exchange greetings and share food at the top of the world with our US and Russian neighbors. I remember feeling a sense of pride and hope for the future of our world. My artwork has always been about analysis, preservation and inspiration. In light of recent international events, my latest painting titled "Sovereignty", is a symbolic narrative on Canada's relationship with the US under the Trump Administration.
The word sovereignty according to Britinnica is derived from the Latin superanus through the French souverainete, the term was originally understood to mean the equivalent of supreme power. In my painting "Sovereignty" I revisited a drama of any earlier work entitled "Intersection". The older work "Intersection" was a statement about human infringement on natural habitat. "Sovereignty" is a statement about the Trump Administration's threat to annex Canada and make it America's 51st state. This threatens to our government, culture, resources, and way of life as Canadians which my grandfathers, George Walker and and Eric Bawden fought to defend in both World Wars.
The Plains Bison is the largest land mammal in North America measuring up to 12 feet in length and measuring up to 2800 pounds. There were once over 25 million free roaming Bison spread across the US and Canada. By 1880 over hunting nearly wiped them out. The Bison subject in the painting symbolizes the common ground both the Canadian and US governments share to maintain a healthy and thriving economy for both countries. The truck in the painting is an older Kenworth Semi made in America. It represents force and uncertainty while the do not pass double painted yellow lines represents the borders between our two countries. The erosion on the highway in the foreground represents the outcome of a broken economic relationship. "As I witness the unfolding global instability in the news, I am hoping the American public will make a stand against the current economic aggression of the Trump Administration. I am reminded of a famous quote by Albert Einstein. "Blind obedience to authority is the greatest enemy of truth". Perhaps Elon Must might rethink his involvement in politics.""
(Christopher Walker)
$9,000.00 Framed
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Christopher Walker
“The force which binds my concepts as a perceptual realist stems from my observations of contemporary human civilization and its relevance to the natural world. All subjects are bound together with metaphoric juxtaposition to render an enigmatic association giving the narrative of each image a subjective conclusion. The intent is to create a neutral platform of depiction. My interest in environmental sciences has been the nucleus of my creativity. I base my artistic expression on what I have experienced as an environmentalist while combining the contemporary condition of human civilization in the 21st century. My goal is to depict human relevance to the environment from the perspective of modern culture.” - Christopher Walker
The art of Christopher Walker is best described as perceptual realism. This complex method of analysis of form and composition can only be derived from the actual experience of the subject. The artist attempts to convey a unique interpretation of the subject based on personal associations and intellectual perspectives. The concept then progresses to multiple juxtaposition of various elements to achieve an infinite range of distinctive metaphoric combinations. Walker’s various artistic influences range from the renaissance, flemish masters to contemporary realists, impressionists and abstract expressionists. Having experimented in these particular styles, the artist has refined his technique and composition to blending the traditional method with a unique contemporary flair.
Artist Christopher Walker was born in Montreal, Quebec in 1964. As a child, his oil paintings depicting Quebec rural landscape gave birth to his love and dedication towards art and the environment. His formal artistic education was at the Ontario College of Art from 1983 to 1987 where he began experimenting in different media and compositional development. Having a long list of scientific interests, Walker developed the ability to blend his artistic distinction with his respect for scientific accuracy. He has worked as an art director of illustrated science books and has illustrated four to his credit. Walker has also been commissioned by museums and was art director for the Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary in Victoria, B.C. His departure from expository illustration gave Walker boundless freedom to face new challenges in his work. His unique themes and powerful compositions developed into a higher standard of research. Walker's paintings can only be conceived from the actual experience of the subject.
On August 22, 1994, the C.C.G.S. Louis S. St. Laurent and the U.S.C.G.S. Polar Sea icebreakers entered history as the first North American surface vessels to reach the North Pole. Walker is now in the Canadian Archives as ship's artist. Walker has been featured in the documentary “By Icebreaker to the North Pole” as seen on the A&E Network and the Discovery Channel. His artwork depicting that expedition has travelled across Canada. The work has been seen at The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, B.C., The Vancouver Maritime Museum, B.C., The Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, The Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History, Halifax, and the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, N.T., and the Freshwater Institute, Winnipeg.
Walker's influences range from Vermeer Van Delft, J.A.D. Ingres, Casper David Friedrich to Alex Colville, Andrew Wyeth, Robert Bateman and George Mcclean. A traditional approach along with a distinctive, contemporary style stemming from his unique yet poetic observations of the human condition and the environment make Walker's art a unique and progressive format of realism. His paintings can be found in international, private and corporate collections including the Royal Collection, France, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Japan, Norway and the United States. He is frequently commissioned by the National Science Foundation, Department of Fisheries and Oceans and Environment Canada. Walker continues his conceptual development at his studio on Denman Island, British Columbia.
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