Milkweed, Goldenrod, and Asters Along a Salmon River | Olivia de Fleuriot Perry

Exhibiting April 21 - May 5, 2026

"I return to the place where the Salmon spawn. My children bring me offerings of flowers, leaves, and stones as we walk along the rushing water. I hold up a branch of Asters dappled with light from the dancing trees above. Aaron and I stop under a bridge listening and watching, paying attention. We take a moment to feel the water flowing over our hands. We start to return back home. The kids run ahead with their dad, while I slowly follow behind. As I turn a corner, I am transported to a tapestry of vibrant flowers, bees, wasps, birds and spiders along the Salmon run. A single Milkweed plant stands amongst the Goldenrod, Asters, Wild Carrot, Chicory, Clover and Daisies. I kneel down to watch the bees while a Goldenrod Crab Spider watches me from inside a Wild Carrot flower. A flood of gratitude washes over me as I feel the sun's warmth on my back. Gratitude to witness the scene before me as the bugs dance and the spider patiently waits for its meal. Gratitude for this earth; for life and death; for joy, and sorrow; for abundance and hardship; to live and to be loved as the Salmon return to birch and die for another year. The Milkweed plant quietly whispers to me, with one pod spilling its seeds and the other, green with seeds enclosed, filled with hope for the future.

My research centers on plants inhabiting the Treaty Lands and Territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and the traditional territories of the Huron-Wendat and Haudenosaunee peoples. Their stories and gifts inspire my art practice."

Exhibition Text - Milkweed, Goldenrod, and Asters Along a Salmon River.

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About the Artist

Olivia de Fleuriot Perry is a multidisciplinary artist based on the Treaty Lands and Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit Frist Nation, as well as the traditional territory of the Huron-Wendat and Haudenosaunee peoples. She earned her MFA from Emily Carr University in 2019, supported by a SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarship. In 2026, she will be a part of a group show, Annual Juried Exhibition 2026, at Latcham Art Centre, Stouffville, ON; be published in Syphon, Modern Fuel Artist-run Centre, Kingston, ON; as well as participate in the Harvest Moon Artist Residency in Clearwater, Manitoba, and the Banff Artist in Residence program in Banff, Alberta. She has exhibited nationally and internationally, including at the 2023 Fraser Valley Biennial in B.C. and Split Milk Gallery in Edinburgh.

de Fleuriot Perry's recent practice investigates the connection with her local plant community through repetition and attentive care. She physically engages in the process, using written imagery, performative image creation, sculptural installations, drawing, and painting to navigate her evolving relationship with place. By visiting specific places close to her home across the seasons, de Fleuriot Perry seeks catharsis through movement: repeated collecting and making.