‘Sweet Smelling Ashes’: Sprawling Landscapes Tell Many Tales

Sarah Bur­wash is no stranger to Brown Paper Bag.  Over the years, I’ve admired both her ceram­ics and draw­ings and have been fol­low­ing her work ever since. One of her lat­est endeav­ors is Sweet Smelling Ash­es, a recent­ly-opened exhi­bi­tion at Lat­i­tude 53 in Edmon­ton, Alber­ta, Canada.

The busy, detailed paint­ings show­case fig­ures liv­ing their lives in rit­u­al and rou­tine. They occu­py sprawl­ing land­scapes where every­one is at work, whether it be in phys­i­cal feats or inti­mate inter­ac­tions towards oth­ers. Suc­cess, fail­ure, strug­gle, and grace are all vis­i­ble in her work.

If you’re local to Edmon­ton, check out Sweet Smelling Ash­es until Novem­ber 14 of this year. Here are some select­ed images. Click on them to see ’em in a larg­er size!