A British Columbia artist creates environmentally friendly pieces that decompose in nature
In a lush corner of a West Coast rainforest, a nursery stump is covered in moss, a small huckleberry bush and the face of a contemplative woman. This is the work of artist Alex Stewart, who creates biodegradable art that will decompose or end up covered in moss within one to six months.
“It’s a weird place to be as an artist because I like watching my art rot,” laughs Stewart.
Based out of a farm in Fort Langley, British Columbia, Stewart explores how nature and art mix. He makes his own paint and paper for his creations that end up decomposing in nature, and he works with reclaimed scrap wood and plant-based materials for his indoor gallery pieces. Working to reduce his environmental impact as much as possible has really opened his eyes to just how wasteful artists can be, Stewart said.
“I’ve been wracking my brain this past year to figure out ways to do better,” he said. “Even acrylic paint is plastic, and there isn’t an alternative for that. Canvases come wrapped in plastic. Everything to do with being an artist is generating more waste, which is sad.”
Stewart grew up in the wilderness, where he camped, hiked and took every opportunity to be outside. As a youth, he also learned to paint alongside his mother and grandmother and later ended up at the University of the Fraser Valley, studying painting and photography.
After graduation, Stewart found himself feeling trapped in Langley, where he was working at an automotive and industrial painting job to pay for a mortgage. It took some time for him to realize the toll that his work was taking. The companies he worked with had no interest in recycling or reducing their environmental impact, but Stewart needed the job to pay his mortgage.
Then the opportunity of a lifetime fell into his lap. In the summer of 2017, his sister bought a fish farm in Fort Langley and invited Stewart to come and live in the basement suite.
Within a couple of months, Stewart had sold his condo, quit his job, moved to the farm and gotten a dog. Best of all, he had the space, the financial freedom and the time to pursue his art full-time.
Inspired by Hawaiian artist Sean Yoro – also known as Hula – who creates outdoor murals using 100% biodegradable paint, Stewart set about making his own eco-friendly paints.
“It ended horribly,” he said with a chuckle. “I had no idea what to do!”
Combining moss, sugar, flour and almond milk or buttermilk, along with natural food-grade pigment, in his kitchen blender, Stewart went through a process of trial and error before starting to fine-tune the process. The resulting paste smelled horrible, he said, so he mixed in vanilla extract to increase sugar levels and improve the scent.
Over the past year, he has discovered a number of other companies who are creating and implementing eco-friendly practices. It was a learning process for him, Stewart said, because these methods were never taught in art school.
Stewart figured out how to make a filter to separate plastic paint from his rinse water; discovered an environmentally friendly epoxy to finish his gallery pieces; and started using paints made of just water, alcohol, pigment and a binder made from sugar cane.
For Stewart’s outdoor pieces, he experimented on stumps around the farm – creating a stencil first, putting it on paper and then pasting it onto dead stumps or decomposing lots – never a living tree. Expanding beyond his family’s land, he was conscientious about waiting to be invited into a space to create art. He never wants to leave a destructive mark behind. He’s also refused to geotag his artwork because he is worried people will add their own graffiti to the area without care or consideration for the environment.
Stewart has built a partnership with The Nature Conservancy of Canada, and a portion of his studio artwork sales goes toward the organization.
In addition to creating art and doing his bit in protecting the environment, Stewart is a coach teaching outdoor etiquette, competitive youth climbing and trail maintenance. He said he pursues anything to help spread the word about the importance of nature and its maintenance.
Eventually Stewart hopes to be able to teach other artists about what he has learned through the process of becoming a more environmentally friendly artist. He occasionally guest lectures at the University of Fraser Valley and is also thinking about starting a blog.
“Mankind has always wanted to have an impact on nature,” Stewart says. “We make monuments out of stone and carve faces in mountains. It’s in our nature to want to make an impact, but I want to do that in the best way possible.”
View more of Stewart’s work at enlifestudio.com .
Courtesy of Megaphone / INSP.ngo
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