The Fundy Film Society

Drowning in Colour: The Art of Wayne Boucher

Drowning in Colour: The Art of Wayne Boucher

Note: After the screening, Director of the Acadia University Art Gallery, Laurie Dalton, will moderate a Q & A with Valley artist Wayne Boucher, filmmaker Alan Collins, producer Violet Rosengarten and our audience.

This documentary by Alan Collins explores the ideas and themes in the work of Wayne Boucher, a major Canadian abstract painter, living in Nova Scotia.

Central to the film is a dream-like underwater sequence showing how as a child he slid off a rock and experienced an amazing world of colour, while almost drowning in the process. This otherworldly experience and the luminosity and beauty revealed in the underwater rays of sunlight reappear in many of his paintings.

Collins says “What draws me to Wayne’s work is his humanity and the social conscience he displays in his choice of subject matter while retaining an abstract style open to more than one interpretation. I am struck by the richness of colour, the luminosity and the depth in his paintings.”

His masterpiece, “Réveil”, is a powerful political painting using the colours of the Acadian flag and incorporating a central iron cross to symbolize the suffering of the Acadians during their deportation by the British in 1755. At the same time this remarkable painting expresses the past, present and future aspirations of the Acadian people. The  “Reveil” sequence features the stirring and dynamic music of the popular Acadian group  “Ode A l’Acadie”.

The visual style of the film alternates between abstraction and realism. In the words of curator Peter Dykhuis, “Boucher doesn’t really fit into an image camp and he doesn’t fit into a pure abstraction camp. He’s somewhere in the middle.” The documentary shows how Boucher is inspired by nature, the sea and the history of Annapolis Royal, now home to a thriving community of artists. It deals with his decision to remain loyal to his local community rather than seek commercial success in a major urban center.

The music for the film has been written by Canadian avant-garde composer John Abram. It plays an important role in creating the rhythm and tensions in the film.