Fluttering sheets of paper, diaphanous and soothing, stretch out like a horizon in Dominique Blain’s Drift (2019–22), the multi-channel video work acquired by the National Gallery of Canada in 2024. Viewed at a distance – with its many shades of blue – this patchwork of water imagery is visually lyrical and light in its conveyance. That is, until one gets closer and sees the pieces of paper lifting to reveal migrant boats. Within the 3-minute video loop there is a crescendo of these images until the motion dies down, like a receding wave.

Read full article on National Gallery of Canada Magazine.

Image: Leah Snyder