Biography

Christi York is a contemporary artist who has been studying basketry techniques for the past 13 years. For York, the material is the muse. By hand harvesting her own plant materials, she spends many hours processing plants into a more refined state; invaluable time spent learning her materials by feel—a kind of moving meditation that informs the work ahead.

Her work speaks to a sense of place; including disturbance, balance and history. The act of wandering and searching for materials becomes part of the work, even if it is invisible to the viewer. Knowledge, memory, and mourning are explored by engaging in ancient plant technologies, and hand skills that used to be passed down through generations.

As a materials and process driven studio artist, she is obsessed with plants and how humans fit into their world. Experimental, daily studio practice often unearths unexpected results. Working between three-and two-dimensional work, she is always asking “what if?” in an attempt to combine ancient techniques with a modern aesthetic.

York has spent her life on the West Coast of British Columbia, and now resides in the Southern Gulf Islands, traditional Coast Salish First Nations Territory.

Her first job was in a flower shop, where, perhaps, it all started.