Scars and Seeds: Tracing the Memory of Nature, 2025

Mill Pond Gallery

Richmond Hill, ON | July 15–20, 2025

In their collaborative residency and exhibition Scars and Seeds: Tracing the Memory of Nature, artists Christos Damianos and Greg Chiykowski explored the lasting imprints of human activity on the environment—traces of harm and resilience embedded in the land.

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Rooted in ecological reflection and material experimentation, the project unfolded as a tactile dialogue between destruction and renewal. Inspired by the poetic notion that “paper is ink’s sister” (Jason Logan), the artists experimented with making inks, pigments and handmade papers from foraged natural materials such as earth pigments, lichens, bark, and plant matter. These materials became both medium and message, representing a cyclical relationship between nature and artistic process.

Working in and around the Mill Pond studio and nearby reserve, they transformed the space into a site of alchemical practice—boiling, fermenting, and grinding their gathered elements into expressive mark-making tools. The resulting works—drawings, paintings, and handmade papers—traced ecological memory and marked sites of trauma and renewal, offering viewers an invitation to witness nature’s endurance and transformation.