Memories are the thread that binds our identities together.
From our earliest childhood recollections to our defining moments, memory and nostalgia play a huge role in our lives. It’s these feelings artist Jess Thomas is exploring in Nostalgia, her first solo show at Parkside Gallery.
“I paint scenes mostly from my life and my memories. There’s this quote that talks about how memories are the thread through your life that reminds you you’re the same person,” Thomas said. “I think that’s the thread I’m always pulling on.”
The owner of Revelry Art and Dance, Thomas is one of the newer members of the South Cariboo art community. Since moving to the community in 2020, she’s taken part in several group shows but noted this is the first time she’s done a large-scale show all on her own.
“It’s really exciting. I’ve never shown my work on this scale before and I just think it’s so cool Parkside gives artists that opportunity,” Thomas said. “The name of the show is Nostalgia and it’s about memories. When you think of nostalgia there are a million ways you could go and I’m trying to connect the dots in my own life.”
With a chuckle, Thomas said she was not sure exactly how many paintings she was going to include in the show. When she talked to the Free Press she still had a week left and was putting the finishing touches on some final paintings. She anticipates, however, that Nostalgia will be made up of at least 20 to 30 works.
“I’ve done a few shows through the Cariboo Artist Guild in the Showcase Gallery but you only need 10 paintings for that gallery. They’re also more like an ‘art as part of life’ type thing, where people see them when walking to their appointments (in the South Cariboo Business Centre),” Thomas said. “At Parkside, people have to specifically go to the gallery to see it and it’s a lot bigger. I don’t know if I’ve ever planned something a year in advance in my whole life.”
Despite each painting in the show being tied to one of Thomas’ own memories, she feels that many of them will overlap with the memories of those who come to see the show. Many of her paintings, which all make use of vivid acrylic colours, depict the outdoors and draw on her childhood experiences of snowshoeing around lakes and spending summers on the farm.
“I think anyone who walks into the show will find something in common.”
While there are a few older works mixed in, for the most part Thomas painted new pieces for Nostalgia. She said it’s exciting to see how much she’s grown as an artist over the last year.
One of her favourite paintings in the show is The Road Less Travelled, which depicts the white water rapids of a river. She also has several paintings of waterfalls, evoking the waterfalls she used to visit with her family in Tumbler Ridge.
Thomas said that in addition to her show’s opening, which takes place on Saturday, Oct. 14, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., she’s also decided to teach a special class on Oct. 18 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. For $10, Thomas said she’ll be guiding students through an exploration of drawing and painting at her studio in 100 Mile House.
“I wanted the show to not just be paintings, so I think the best way I can add more meaning is by sharing my process and how I make art,” Thomas said. “I believe art is for everybody and that anyone can make art and feel good about it.”
