Camille Myles
Artist based in Georgian Bay, Ontario, Canada
ABOUT
Camille Myles is a French-Canadian multi-disciplinary contemporary artist and conservation activist exploring imagery rooted in gender roles, identity, motherhood and the environment. Working in media including collage, encaustic, painting, sculpture, printmaking and installation, she creates art that tells a story linked to childhood, self-reflection and our impact on this world. She received her BFA in Sculpture & Installation at Ottawa University and her MA in Heritage Conservation at Carleton University. Myles has exhibited extensively including Quest Art Gallery, Ottawa Art Gallery, BHA Gallery, Arts Mums United, Gallery 115, among others. She has been awarded an art residency in June 2022 at Studio H Canada in Victoria BC. Being drawn to the power of public art as a social community conversation, the artist has been creating murals and large-scale public art sculptures in Midland and in Penetanguishene. Her work has been featured by the Jealous Curator and podcasts including Arts Mums United, Hot Mess to Awesomeness & CFRH. She’s won the Diamond Jubilee Medal and finalist of the Canadian New Painting Competition. She’s a founding artist member of the Art Queens and The Works by Erika B Hess from I like your Work. Originally from Gatineau, Quebec, she now lives along the shores of Georgian Bay, in Tiny Ontario with her husband and three young children.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Exploring public art, encaustic, painting, collage and sculpture, I have found my artistic voice through a deep connection to nature, self-reflection and conversations about the human experience. I'm inspired by the natural world around me and its precarity - constant change and threats to our environment shape how I see the world. I’m interested in imagery and landscapes that remind us that our time on this Earth is finite, that everything comes back to a natural state of being. From decay and change we find new growth and hope. I also identify with the hidden struggles of contemporary motherhood and have been focused on visually connecting to simple everyday nostalgic and playful moments.
Whether working with reflective materials in large-scale public art projects, found readymades in sculptural installations or capturing the essence and complexities of motherhood in portraiture, my work is layered with meaning, history and textures. In my art, I enjoy challenging the viewer’s perspective, to bring in refraction, reflections and shadows that are mere distortions of reality. In essence, I enjoy storytelling about place, memory and linking that to my own personal journey.
I’m influenced by other female installation and public art artists such as Geneviève Cadieux, Janet Cardiff, Kiki Smith, Louise Bourgeois, Daisy Patton, Stephanie Killgast and Mandy Cano Villalobos for their tenacity, strength in messaging and bravery.
Website: camillemylesart.com
Instagram: @camillemylesart