Cath Hughes is a visual artist who works across painting, assemblage, installation and collage and is based in North Vancouver. She holds a BFA in Painting from Oxford University and an MA from London University, and recently completed the graduate correspondence painting course with Turps Art School in London. Cath currently works as an instructor at Emily Carr University and Burnaby Art Gallery. 

 

Trained in painting, Hughes's work now takes many forms including collage,assemblage, installation and mixed media paintings. All are informed by an approach to collage or bricolage which taps into the unconscious to evoke poetic and psychological associations. An underpinning theme for these interdisciplinary enquiries is cycles of construction, collapse and reconstruction. 

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“This project interests me greatly, not only because of the opportunity to raise awareness through art making to the need to clean up our lakes and oceans, but also because of the unseen nature of the materials involved. It is intriguing to be asked to create work from items that have a history of being submerged, and to continue their 'story' in their transformation into artwork. I hope to respond intuitively to the materials, but would envisage creating a sculptural piece that makes reference to ocean/lake wildlife and ecosystems, to those fragile organisms that are at risk from human waste. I am interested in how materials can be transformed by 'processing' them further using diverse techniques such as cutting, binding, wrapping, weaving, melting and/or combining in diverse ways. I hope to create work which is reflective yet hopeful."