Life’s Work: A Visual Memoir was a solo show that ran from June 3rd – July 17th, 2022 at the Victoria Arts Council, 1800 Store Street in Victoria, BC. It will also become a graphic memoir that fleshes out the story from start to finish with all new paintings.
From my artist’s statement for the show:
My current work is a visual memoir about the last five years of my mother’s life, after she’d been diagnosed with Lewy Body dementia. It’s also about my uneasy relationship with her growing up, and how that made dealing with her dementia a kind of spiritual quest I didn’t know I was going to have to make.
It began with paintings, but as the project developed it became clear that the best way to tell this story was through graphic memoir (memoir comics)—something I had no experience with. Experimenting with this new genre was both frustrating and invigorating. In order to loosen up, at a certain point I intentionally started using a cheap, limiting brush—opening a gateway to working more intuitively and with less perfectionism. Both artistically and personally, this project has proved to be a watershed moment for me.
All of the work in this show is ink on paper, and has been leading toward a future graphic memoir that will be comprised of a series of paintings telling the story from start to finish. The writing for this book is in its final stages and has been through a developmental edit; the new paintings will commence in the near future.
Mike Devlin in Victoria’s Times-Colonist newspaper:
Superlatives to accurately describe the breadth of B.A. Lampman’s upcoming exhibition are in short supply, which is a very good problem to have. The Victoria artist, who graduated with distinction from the art program at Concordia University, covers a five-year period during which she cared for her terminally-ill mother, whose Lewy Body dementia included symptoms ranging from vivid hallucinations to movement disorders. Lampman created the visual memoir with the flair of a serial comic strip but the raw truth of a graphic novel, all from a purpose-built backyard studio. The results are harrowing at times, but never less than awe-inspiring.
A sample of comments from the guest book at Life’s Work: A Visual Memoir:
“Stunning and powerful”
“Extremely moving and truthful”
“Such an amazing show. Psychologically astute, challenging, moving, visually rich”
“As a caregiver myself I found this haunting and important—thank you”
“This body of work is profoundly moving and brilliant in its execution”
“I was really touched by the tenderness, humour and poignancy—thank you”
“Very tangible and connective—I felt completely drawn in—thank you!”
“Powerfully moving”
To hear an interview about the show with Sheryl MacKay on CBC’s North by Northwest, click here (starts ten minutes in).
Click on the images for a better view. If you’d like to witness some of the process, take a look at my art journal/newsletter Feed the Monster. For some back-story on how I came to be doing this project, take a look here.
