austen camille

I am a Canadian-American artist, writer, builder and naturalist, currently moving between projects and locations.

The foundation of my studio practice can be traced to my early years spent moving homes, moving schools and moving around the world; noting the particularities of a place ⎼ and how to fit myself within it ⎼ is something I learned how to do as a child. In my work, I investigate my itinerant state as it relates to the landscapes I encounter and inhabit, and how this is informed by my work as a builder and a gardener. I seek reciprocal relationships between built and natural environments, and play with the concepts of permanence and impermanence. Notions of belonging and ownership, rootedness, and the uncertainty of the term ‘home’, are component parts of this exploration. No matter the project, each site is encountered slowly and thoughtfully, in all its complexity, in order to create work that is in conversation with its place.

My interdisciplinary practice incorporates painting, sculpture, installation, writing, research, sound recording, performance, construction, collaborative acts, new technologies and localized material (etc.); the medium is always determined by the place and the project. Anytime I create something, the way in which it is made tells a story about that place. The work is always intended as an extension, rather than an intervention or superimposition.

Alongside and integrated with my studio practice, I work to forge connections between the arts and other disciplines. My own curiosities range from birding to geology to ecological restoration to architecture to rural community building (again, etc.); being an artist has allowed me to pursue this wide range of inquiries and engage with subsequent collaborations, making my life and work much richer in the process.