Kay Linley | Paddling Back to Us

Dec. 5

Kay Linley
Paddling Back to Us

EDGE GALLERY
January 5 - 27, 2024
Opening Reception: January 12, 5-7pm

These acrylic paintings are the illustrations in my book Paddling Back to Us. The paintings describe some of the most impressionable connections I experienced while kayaking 1000-kilometres through Yukon’s wilderness. Alongside are passages from the book, which I channelled directly from the paintings.

The immersive kayaking journey gave me the opportunity to expand my awareness both outwards into the surrounding environment and inwards into the recesses of my being. The exposure, physical exertion and time alone on the water brought me into an altered state of consciousness. This newfound presence showed me how my inner oscillations, between fear and love, contraction and expansion, doubt and faith, were being reflected by the environment. It felt like the natural world had a consciousness of its own and was responding to my inner states of being by sharing its wisdom with me.

As I opened up and made connections with the land, water and animals, I was nurtured by them and began to see them for who they truly were and in turn see myself for who I truly was. One thing I know now for sure after immersing myself in this northern wilderness is that we are never truly alone and, in a way, we are all on these solo journeys together.

KAY LINLEY
Kay Deborah Linley is a northern interdisciplinary author, artist and creative, who weaves together themes of healing and nature in her writing, paintings and fibre arts.

In 2022, Kay released her first book Paddling Back to Us. Recounting a 1000-kilometre kayaking pilgrimage she undertook through Yukon’s wilderness; this body of work integrates Kay’s internal and external worlds in a daring and authentic expression of acceptance. The book includes seventeen of Kay’s original paintings, which emphasize the strong connections she experienced with the natural world, and how they provided wisdom and healing when she needed it the most.

Currently, Kay is strengthening her ability to access and provide voice to a number of sources, such as natural places, animals, dreamworld and ethereal realms, and to bring them into conversation. From this work, she is developing her second book about the subtle and tumultuous nature of mid-life awakenings against a back-drop of off-season travel.