A multimedia artist residing on Cortes Island recently showcased "Jellyfish Bloom in the Forest" at a Laketown Ranch festival called "Lamplight" on May 20. Now, having just finished a fine arts program at North Island College, Laurena Fairbairn will be touring the "Jellyfish" installation at major BC music festivals this summer.

The installation was originally constructed for Pachena Bay Music Festival 2022. The artwork includes a uniquely-sourced medium of found objects from places like the Cortes Free Store; lampshades, doilies, and lace transformed into the fairy-like sea creatures. 

“It turned out that what happened is when the wind blew strong the tentacles would get all stuck on the trees and the things around them, and it became a lot more like how jellyfish are in the wild, with their tentacles streaming in different directions,” Fairbairn elaborated.

The artist has a background in art direction, managing décor at the first Pachena Bay Music Festival last year, as well as having her work featured for this upcoming year at the same event. Fairbairn will most notably be featured at the 15th edition of Bass Coast on July 7-10. That festival is hosted in Merritt, BC and included 57 art installations last year.

Fairbairn discusses the journey that lead to Cortes and how the island inspires their artistic work. 

“I moved to Cortes for the past two years... so I wasn't losing my mind… so that I could continue to live in places that I really loved. So that was extremely fun and inspiring. It really pushed me in so many ways to expand as an artist. And now that I'm done that I'd like to try and just focus on building up my portfolio again.”

To hear more about the “Jellyfish’s” path this summer, listen to the CKTZ News Update below: