In this exhibition, entitled ‘Journey’, Rose Hirano shares her experience becoming a Canadian: the initial insecurity and isolation, renewed approaches to obstacles, and her quest for balance and peace.

      

Hirano came to Canada from Hong Kong at the age of 19. After graduating from the University of Western Ontario, she worked in Hamilton for five years before moving to Cochrane. Her ten-year stay in Northern Ontario gave her insight into the physical and human landscape of Canada. Hirano has been living in Brantford for the past 15 years where she maintains a print studio and exhibition loft.

      

Reduction Woodblock Using one single piece of wood, the process involves multiple steps of carving, inking and hand printing from light to dark values and colours. With each step, the flat printing surface of the wood is progressively reduced. Hirano creates small editions of 8-12 for each image. Each edition takes four to five weeks to complete.

      

Sounds Like Canada: A Suite of Four Works

It was while living in Cochrane, Ontario when Hirano realized what Canada is – not a big metropolis with multi-lane highways, but made up of small communities where neighbours have time for each other and the social hub is the Post Office where everyone picks up their mail.

Provincial flowers are depicted across the four works. Embedded among them are references to Canadian icons: CBC Radio and the railway. CBC Radio’s broadcasts on national and local issues connect the Canadians from coast to coast. Select lyrics from Gordon Lightfoot's Canadian Railway Trilogy are used both within the images and as the titles of each work. The red line, symbolic of the 49th parallel, runs through all four works.

      

      

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