Cornelia van Voorst is a visual artist and theopoetic practitioner with a studio practice in Victoria, BC, Canada on the traditional lands of the lək̓ʷəŋən (Lekwungen) peoples, the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations. In a world shut down by pandemic, her recent work honours stories of endurance and compassion in the face of both personal and collective adversity. Living with a complex form of PTSD influences van Voorst’s engagement with intergenerational trauma. Images of roses are altered through the application of distress processes and many layers of ink to become a form of remembrance for stories of resilience and resistance. In all of her work, allusive, lyrical images hover between literal and metaphorical depiction and negotiate the space between lived experience and dominant narrative. Her work is an empathetic integration of the personal with the historical that resonates within our contemporary context.
Cornelia van Voorst 