CATHERINE M. STEWART: "Invoking Venus," May 3 to May 24, 2014, Elissa Cristall Gallery, Vancouver

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"Indian Pitta Wing"

Catherine Stewart, "Indian Pitta Wing" (c. 1930-32), 2012-2013, archival metallic prints, mounted on aluminum, 24” x 24”.

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"Red Crossbill"

Catherine Stewart, "Red Crossbill" (1926), 2009/2012, archival metallic prints, mounted on aluminum, 24” x 24”.

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"Teal Taffeta Gown"

Catherine Stewart, "Teal Taffeta Gown" (c. 1930-32), 2012-2013, archival metallic prints, mounted on aluminum, 24” x 24”.

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"Polka-Dotted Evening Dress"

Catherine Stewart, "Polka-Dotted Evening Dress" (1958), 2012-2013, archival metallic prints, mounted on aluminum, 24” x 24” each

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"Great Northern Loon"

Catherine Stewart, "Great Northern Loon" (1958), 2012-2013, archival metallic prints, mounted on aluminum, 24” x 24”.

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"Green Afternoon Dress"

Catherine Stewart, "Green Afternoon Dress" (1926), 2009/2012, archival metallic prints, mounted on aluminum, 24” x 24”.

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"Off-White Beaded Gown"

Catherine Stewart, "Off-White Beaded Gown" (c. 1922-25), 2012, archival metallic prints, mounted on aluminum, 24” x 24”.

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"Snowy Owl"

Catherine Stewart, "Snowy Owl" (c. 1922-25), 2012, archival metallic prints, mounted on aluminum, 24” x 24”.

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"Indian Pitta Wing" and "Teal Taffeta Gown"

Catherine M. Stewart, "Indian Pitta Wing" and "Teal Taffeta Gown" (c. 1930-32), 2012-2013, archival metallic prints mounted on aluminum, 24” x 24” each.

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CATHERINE M. STEWART: Invoking Venus

May 3 to May 24, 2014

Elissa Cristall Gallery, Vancouver

By Maureen Latta

The slither of silk, the flash of vermilion, the glitter of glass beads – we experience the sensual potential of fashion and its importance in mating rituals every time we step into a nightclub or flip through Vogue. Catherine M. Stewart’s show, Invoking Venus, reminds us that the displays of beauty inherent in pair bonding in the natural world, most notably among birds, are not so different from the loveliness created with needle and thread. She juxtaposes the natural – Darwin’s “endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful” – with the manufactured, exploring the seductive qualities of the physical world in photo-based diptychs and triptychs.

By teaming extreme close-ups of bird plumage with similar images of vintage garments, Invoking Venus engages viewers with scientific and historical inclinations as well as those who simply revel in colour, texture and pattern. Stewart borrowed study skins of birds from the Beaty Biodiversity Museum, which houses the University of British Columbia’s biological collections. The clothing came from the private collections of Vancouver fashion historians Ivan Sayers and Claus Jahnke. In Snowy Owl and Off-white Beaded Gown, for instance, the enlarged lines of vanes and barbs reveal the complex structure of the owl’s feathers – graphic and textural qualities echoed in a French satin evening dress from the 1920s embroidered with opalescent beads.

Stewart lays specimens and clothing on a flatbed scanner to produce close-up digital images with the sharp detail and intense colour that makes viewing this work so enjoyable. The fact the images are printed on metallic paper also helps. The iridescent wing of an Indian pitta dazzles the eye, especially when juxtaposed with a teal taffeta gown from Austria. Stewart occasionally adjusts garment colour digitally, but never touches up the birds. “I wanted to try and stay true to nature,” she says. “Whereas a dress is human-made, so I felt a little more comfortable tweaking it to match the birds.” Some works emphasize pattern affinities. One pairing features a 1950s Balenciaga bubble skirt with warp-printed polka-dots that echo the black-and-white patches on a loon.

Stewart, who has a bachelor’s degree in science and a master’s degree in fine arts, has combined her dual interests over the last decade to explore the visual language of science. She has exhibited at such eminent facilities as the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences in Britain as well as the Beaty Biodiversity Museum.