Community Photos

The Downtown Business Improvement Association partnered with artist Ken Blackburn, the CR Arts Council, and POTA (Patrons of the Arts) to install this beautiful mural in downtown Campbell River. "The artwork is from a paper collage made mostly from Japanese chiyogami papers. Chiyogami papers have over a thousand-year history of very decorative, colourful patterns, all handmade using natural kozo fibres and plant dyes—a wonderfully environmental paper. As Picasso famously said, "Sometimes art is simply for looking at." This artwork is intended to be a joy to observe and explore—very floral in nature, and evoking the beautiful fragrances of nighttime blooms. It is also a metaphor for the beauty of the Milky Way. I love working with patterns and collages. The floral theme will be wonderful this summer alongside the Year of the Garden theme for the street banners. The work is colourful, fresh, and one never tires of examining it! It is meant to be simply looked at, forcing the eye to move around its complex patterns. It is intended to provide joy to the observer." — Ken Blackburn, Artist