Sherri Martin. Natural Displacement, 2007

During November and December 2007 Raumars artist-in-residence is Canadian born Sherri Martin, who works with 8th grade pupils from Rauma Lyceum primary school. Sherri Martin tells about ther work:

I was raised in a pulp and paper mill-town in Canada and have always viewed the land as a commodity. The trees were our livelihood, beautiful yet for sale. For the last 12 years I have lived in suburban California exploring issues of displacement from nature. Recently I have become interested in the Artic not only because of the natural dichotomy of beauty and starkness, but also because it is quickly becoming a frontier for political drama. As the global climate warms Artic water channels remain open and potential for year around shipping traffic increases. The virtually empty Artic has become our newest contested global commodity and very much at risk for environmental crises.

I want to work with community groups to increase awareness of their own environmental concerns. What threatens their own natural environment and would they like to express that? Do they realize that any environment at risk ultimately affects their own? Discussion is essential to expressing themselves and to create a work of art that they feel demonstrates their point of view. They will choose from materials that are available to them.