Professor’s artwork represents Canada

Artist Catherine Richards works on one of the pieces that are part of the interactive display, “Charged Hearts.”

Visual arts professor Catherine Richards is currently representing Canada in an international exhibition of electronic and digital art in Valletta, Malta.

The exhibition, called “Digital Discourse,” runs until January 8 at the St. James Centre for Creativity. Featuring the works of nine artists from Canada, Australia, Singapore, Cyprus, South Africa, India, New Zealand, the UK and Malta, the show provides an artistic and philosophical counterpoint to the meetings of the Commonwealth heads of government, held in this Maltese city from November 27 to 29.

Richards interactive display is an electronically charged glass heart, called “Charged.” It is part of a collection called “Charged Hearts” that was commissioned by the National Gallery of Canada (NGC) in 1997.

Richards is the first artist in Canada, and amongst the first artists in the world, to work with virtual reality technology. This has earned her the highest award in Canada for new media artists, as well as several NGC fellowships. She was one of the first artists to receive an AIRes grant, an artist in residence fellowship at the National Research Council of Canada.