March 30 to June 29, 2019 in The Cube, Kamloops Art Gallery. Curated by Craig Wilms.
In this new body of work, Four Oldest Daughters, Darlene Kalynka reflects on family roles, labour and sacrifice across three generations of her family in Ukraine and Canada.
Kalynka works with the etching process, using large copper plates to
depict life-sized scythes as stand-ins for each of the oldest daughters
in three generations of her family. The scythe is an implement of
labour used by both Kalynka’s grandmothers on farms in their home
country of Ukraine and in northern Saskatchewan, where her family
settled. As the eldest children, each woman in the family was expected
to make sacrifices in order to take care of the younger siblings and to
take responsibility for chores on the family farm. Education was
sometimes foregone so these women could contribute to the family and
their way of life.
Featuring a key symbol of this experience,
Kaylnka’s project is intended as a celebration, acknowledging the
sacrifices of these women and emphasizing the connection that runs
through the three generations.