Anna Gustafson

Using common objects Anna Gustafson explores the intersection between the natural world and human behaviour, while grounding her work with research in history, science and communication. For the past six years Anna has been enshrouding discarded small appliances and single-use plastic containers in linen - just as we once prepared our dead for burial. While continuing to enshroud anthropomorphic detritus, she has been researching the various influences of her bi-cultural immigrant background. Gustafson’s artistic practice combines a spare aesthetic with a sincere use of materials and rigorous methodology to create narratives that resonate with the synergy between idea, material and technique. She chooses to work with a limited palette and vocabulary of natural materials and found objects.

Anna Gustafson was conceived in Guatemala to an Italian/Guatemalan mother and Swedish father, born in Sweden and raised in Vancouver, Canada. Gustafson's long view has benefited from being nurtured in a multi-cultural family within an immigrant perspective. An important premise of her work is that we best remember information and events through our senses and associated emotions. With a strong sensory component, her work is a catalyst for deep emotion and conversation, that encourages each viewer absorb and retain their experience. An honours graduate of Vancouver School of Art - now Emily Carr, Anna has shown in public galleries since 1974.

Anna Gustafson's residency at NARS is made possible by Canada Council for the Arts.