“NATURALLY” opens May 25, 2018 at Victoria Arts Council Fort St. Gallery
“NATURALLY” the MULTIMEDIA SHOW opened 5PM May 25, 2018 at the Victoria Arts Council Gallery 636 Fort Street, Victoria, British Columbia V8W 3V2.
The Event featured seagull paintings and videos. The show runs May 25th – May 31st, from 11AM to 8PM daily.
NILS JENSEN – OAK BAY MAYOR
Oak Bay Mayor Nils Jensen, an avid arts supporter, has a distinguished career of public service including his work as a Crown prosecutor and adjunct Professor at University of Victoria Faculty of Law, 15 years as a councilor in Oak Bay, Chair of the 2011 Budget Committee, Member of the Climate Change Task Force, Chair of the Secondary Suites Committee, Chair of the Floor Area Ratio Committee, Chair of the Regional Water Supply Commission (12 years), Trustee of the Greater Victoria Public Library Board, Vice-chair of CRD Emergency Service Telecommunications, and Council Liaison of the Emergency Planning Committee.
ARTIST STATEMENT – NATURALLY
Naturally, breathing deeply and rhythmically, relax with total faith and complete confidence into the chaos, complexity and absurdity of our present life. This current work was inspired by Louise Blight’s PhD thesis on the declining fortunes of the Glaucous winged gull. (See PDF Glaucous-winged gulls Larus glaucescens as sentinels for a century of ecosystem change )
Jason Proctor, CBC News, Jun 22, 2019 – Vancouver Man faces $8000 Fine For Disturbing a Seagull’s Nest, Louise Blight’s Work Cited. See PDF: ‘I didn’t know that seagulls were protected’_ B.C. man escapes fine for destroying gull’s nest _ CBC News
82-year-old Angelo Mion from Vancouver narrowly avoided an $8,000 fine this week for destroying a gull’s nest. Angelo Mion learned the hard way that a seagull is more than just a flying rat. At least as far as the law is concerned. The 82-year-old East Vancouver man found himself before a judge for the first time in his life this week after having pleaded guilty to an offence: destroying the nest of a migratory bird. “I didn’t know that seagulls were protected either. I don’t think most people do,” his lawyer told Judge Patrick Doherty. “He didn’t know he was doing anything wrong.” Mion’s tangle with the law grew out of the ornithological obsession of a couple whose high-rise condo allowed them a clear view of the rooftop of a low-rise East Vancouver apartment building Mion built in the early 1980s. The octogenarian doesn’t live in the building, but he still serves as caretaker. And in the summer of 2016, his neighbours took an
interest in the birth and hatching of two fledgling gulls. These fledgling gulls were hatched in a nest on the roof of the CBC’s downtown Vancouver building. It is an offence to destroy a gull’s nest. (CBC) Crown prosecutor James Billingsley said gull chicks are lightless for five to six weeks. But once they do take to the skies, their nests still serve as a kind of homing beacon. “It’s how they orient themselves in cases of extreme weather,” the prosecutor said. One of the neighbours claimed he saw Mion walk onto the roof one July morning and “chase and kick” at the two baby gulls. The birds’ parents screeched and circled in the skies overhead as the neighbour yelled at Mion to stop. That night, the other half of the couple saw Mion “sweeping the nest into a bucket.” They called wildlife officials, who showed up at the door of Mion’s home, “but he refused to open it.” ‘These are these common seagulls, right?’ Fast forward to the summer of 2017 and the high-rise neighbours had their eyes on a new nest of gulls. There were three this time. Then, in mid-August, one of the neighbours came home to find there were none. “He saw shovel marks,” Billingsley told the judge. A B.C. provincial court judge gave 82-year-old Angelo Mion an absolute discharge for destroying a seagull’s nest. A wildlife inspector called on Mion again, this time wanting access to the roof for an inspection. Mion told him there was no need, because he had already removed the nest. “Mr. Mion stated that he was the only one with access to the roof,” Billingsley told the judge. “And (the officer) should go and get a helicopter because that was the only way (he) would get access to the roof.” In a distinguished career behind the bench, Doherty has presided over complex cases involving alleged sexual assault in the RCMP, trespassing on Indigenous land and fraud. This appeared to be the first time he had been asked to consider the rights of a Glaucous-winged gull. “These are these common seagulls, right?” he asked Billingsley. “That’s correct,” Billingsley answered. “All gulls are protected under
the Migratory Birds Convention Act.”
The rise and fall of the Glaucous-winged gull – Louise Blight
According to a 2015 University of British Columbia study, the number of seagulls in
the Strait of Georgia, which separates Vancouver Island from the B.C. mainland, has
dropped by 50 per cent in the past three decades. Diet is considered a factor in
their decline.
They’re known for eating almost anything — hence the “flying rat” reputation — but they historically relied on a marine diet. Apparently french fries, cookies and other scraps picked off the plates of tourists are not an improvement. Seagulls are as much a part of the B.C. landscape as the Coastal Mountains. And they’re protected – despite fowl bathroom habits. Destroying a gull’s nest carries a penalty ranging from $5,000 to $300,000. Billingsley was looking for a fine of $8,000. But Mion’s lawyer, Ken Westlake, said an absolute discharge would be more appropriate. Born in Italy in 1937, Mion came to Canada in 1956 with a Grade 5 education. A mason by trade, he worked until the point his body failed him, raising children and grandchildren. He has prostate cancer and other health issues. Westlake said the gull’s nest was blocking the drain in the apartment building. ‘Absolutely inconceivable’ Mion wore a crisp light check shirt and brown dress pants as he sank into a chair beside his lawyer. Westlake said the old man was “adamant” that he didn’t touch the nest until the chicks were gone. And he disputed any suggestion that the neighbours could have seen his infirm client “kick” at anything. “He walks with some difficulty,” Westlake told the judge. “What (the neighbour) observed and what he believes have nothing to do with what happened.” Doherty decided to give Mion an absolute discharge — meaning he won’t have to pay a fine and hopefully will never have to set foot in a court again. The judge pointed out that ignorance of the law is no defence. But in some circumstances, it can be a mitigating factor. “It is absolutely inconceivable that he will be caught doing anything wrong again,” the judge said.
MAY 10, 2018 Media Release (Special thanks to Linda)
Victoria, BC The Single Seagull is at it again, appearing May 25-31, 2018, at the Victoria Arts Council Gallery, 636 Fort St., this time doing palm readings and inciting general revelry and silliness, all part of Naturally, the current exhibit of new seagull paintings and videos by local artists Sherry Tompalski and Graham Thompson.
“Our February show, Sex and the Single Seagull, was such fun,” says Thompson, ‘well, of course we had to have the chap back again. I mean, people are asking – did he ever find love? Only he seems to have grown! And has lately been revealing his extraordinary psychic gifts. We’re quite chuffed he’s agreed to come to our May 25, 5 PM opening!”
Partners in art and in life, Tompalski’s and Thompson’s work has been seen and won awards in Australia, Switzerland, the UK, Brazil, New York, the Phillippines.
The pair find the seagulls here ubiquitous and quite fascinating. “Everybody seems to find them such a bother,” says Thompson, ‘but of course, despite all the milky white proof of their existence everywhere, and their squawky overhead acrobatics, even a seagull needs love.”
‘Multicoloured Seagull’ and ‘Queen Mother Gull’ are just two of Tompalski’s new works on display, and if you’re amongst the first 20 guests at the opening, The Single 7’ Psychic Seagull might just make your palm reading a free one!
Also at the Naturally Art Show is Shelby Assemheimer’s new paintings and sculptures. Shelby says “My new work brings to mind the wonders of my garden; though minute in the grand scheme of things, they root the soul in all that matters.”
The above video is from the February 2018 Sex and the Single Seagull Show. The YouTube video is describe as follows: HEAR YE! HEAR YE! The Queen Gull Cries! OUR FLOCK IS SHRINKING IN SIZE! (50% smaller in a few decades) A Trio of Gulls call out GO FORTH AND PROCREATE! And a Young Gull looks for a mate on the INTERNET. He Visits SEX SHOPS. Talks to FRIENDS, Tries to MEET new people. And He gets LUCKY – He meets a YOUNG SEXY GULL! There is a BONFIRE OF LOVE. And all ends well – WE HOPE! MUSIC BY http://teknoaxe.com
Learn how a group of gulls coped with Downsizing, embraced Internet Dating and found True Love. The show featured paintings by Sherry Tompalski, catalogs, photos, and videos by Graham Thompson.
100+ Painting & New Media Projects in Europe, Asia & Americas
OXFORD UNIVERSITY UK: https://goo.gl/HdGA7J
SWISS FILM FESTIVAL: https://goo.gl/948oJ9
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN BRAZIL: https://goo.gl/8x4HbE
NEW YORK MEDIA ART: https://goo.gl/UH2qAj
PHILIPPINES INSTALLATION: https://goo.gl/2Nzb6m
TAIPEI UNIVERSITY ARTS: https://goo.gl/jcgE4m
AUSTRALIAN ART AWARD: https://goo.gl/m8XwE3
KYRGYZSTAN ART: https://goo.gl/xHSUom
SHERRY PAINTS 