Mezzanine Gallery Wall & Reception Wall
Evangeline Noordermeer-Dick
Home: The Mind, Body and Spirit
About the Artwork / Artist:
I just moved here from Vancouver; my home for 20 years. Like any stage in life, I’m learning of myself and the world around me—where I belong within it. I mean to explore my roots; my Songhees ancestry, and the anatomy of my skin and mind. This will help me convey visually what it means to have hope and optimism in a new world and way of life. I mean for my work to provide comfort for those undergoing change (which happens to be everyone). Some of the pieces will incorporate elements of traditional Songhees art, and a colour composition of earth tones.
Upper Gallery Wall
Gunel Akhundova
About the Artwork / Artist:
Gunel Akhundova (she/her) is a visual artist originally born in Baku, Azerbaijan. She moved to Canada to attend the University of Victoria, where she received a Bachelor's of Fine Arts in Visual Arts (Honours) with a minor in Education in 2025. Working fluidly across mixed media, painting, textiles, and digital art, she uses diverse techniques to explore her personal experiences and stories. She currently lives, works, and creates on the traditional and unceded territories of the Málexeł (Malahat), W̱SÁNEĆ (Saanich), and Quw'utsun (Cowichan) Peoples.
As a Third Culture Kid (TCK), I grew up across multiple countries – spending my early years in Azerbaijan, childhood in Uzbekistan, teenage years in Romania, and adulthood in Canada. These diverse environments have shaped my perspective far beyond the boundaries of a single passport, inspiring me to explore themes of belonging, cultural fluidity, and identity in my artwork. These concepts emerge naturally as I reflect a world that is interconnected and richly diverse. I am fascinated by the exploration of the intersection between memory, identity and heritage through mixed media, using storytelling as the centre of the artwork. This is evident in the integration of significant objects and iconography, which creates a dialogue between the past and the present. My art questions the idea of “home” and explores the feelings associated with losing loved ones, moving away from family and friends, and starting adulthood when it feels as though you haven’t fully let go of childhood.
Window Gallery
Bisia Belina
Water Installation
About the Artwork / Artist:
Water: Confluence of Mother Tongues is a contemplative meditation on water and the concept of “Becoming Us.”
Like water itself, this project has flowed and evolved over space time, emerging through different forms and iterations. It originated as Water and Toi Moi; two original vocal scores built from over 150
multilingual translations of the word “water,” and five-language translations explored through Toi Moi.
In 2017, the score was greatly enhanced by teaming up with Anna Malkin to create an accompanying audiovisual work. This was then integrated into a larger performative event Sound is a Wave at the Metro Theatre. In 2019, it again reformed to become the focal point of a three-week interactive performance art installation at Flux Media Gallery titled Water: Nous Somme. That same year, for World Water Day, Water was included in a group collaboration at the Royal BC Museum. It was also adapted into an interactive tutorial for the course The Social and Political Life of Water taught by Helene Demers at the University of Victoria. It was presented again at the University of Victoria in 2025.
Invitation to the viewer
When viewing the exhibit and encountering multilingual translations, try speaking them aloud. Play with the sounds—let the words become phrases, phrases become rhythms, and rhythms become a pulse, a direction. Let yourself flow with the current.
Born in Montreal to Polish immigrant parents who survived the aftermath of WWII, Bisia Belina was raised in a home where art was a vital tool for resilience. Her father played piano, and her mother was a poet and painter, instilling in her the value of creative expression for emotional balance
Website
Accessibility: Accessible washrooms, Wheelchair access on main and second floor, and disabled parking stalls. Limited access to mezzanine and upper gallery spaces
For inquiries related to exhibitions, please contact Shantael Sleight at shantael.sleight@saanich.ca or call 778-584-3756.