Dawna Mueller
b. Burnaby, BC
Mueller’s interest in the confluence of conservation and photography began while working in the Yukon driving heavy machinery to help finance her university studies. Thrilled with the natural beauty around her, she spent her free time exploring the untamed wilderness of the area. Upon moving to Switzerland she spent time in the Swiss Alps, where she started taking photographs that documented the negative impact of the changing climate. This project was continued by expeditions to both Greenland and Svalbard in the Arctic, as well as the Antarctic, where she witnessed the effects of melting glaciers and the detriment to the region’s wildlife. The artist notes, “The planet is in peril and the weather patterns are causing havoc in all areas of the world, no one is immune from the destruction and devastation. I want to show the beauty of what I see in these fragile ecosystems because collectively we can work together to save this planet, it is the only home we have.” Through her photography, as well as through lectures and a TEDx Talks Mueller hopes to illustrate the lasting repercussions of the debilitating damage to the environment. Her photos hauntingly portray what we all stand to loose.
In addition to being a photographer, Mueller studied at the Allard Hall Law School, and frequently speaks at schools and business. She was recently trained as a Climate Reality Leader by Al Gore in Los Angeles as a part of his foundation The Climate Reality Project. Furthermore, she is the co-founder of the Swiss a non-profit titled The Future Planet Forum, which seeks to join science and art to work toward solutions for a sustainable future.
Mueller’s interest in the confluence of conservation and photography began while working in the Yukon driving heavy machinery to help finance her university studies. Thrilled with the natural beauty around her, she spent her free time exploring the untamed wilderness of the area. Upon moving to Switzerland she spent time in the Swiss Alps, where she started taking photographs that documented the negative impact of the changing climate. This project was continued by expeditions to both Greenland and Svalbard in the Arctic, as well as the Antarctic, where she witnessed the effects of melting glaciers and the detriment to the region’s wildlife. The artist notes, “The planet is in peril and the weather patterns are causing havoc in all areas of the world, no one is immune from the destruction and devastation. I want to show the beauty of what I see in these fragile ecosystems because collectively we can work together to save this planet, it is the only home we have.” Through her photography, as well as through lectures and a TEDx Talks Mueller hopes to illustrate the lasting repercussions of the debilitating damage to the environment. Her photos hauntingly portray what we all stand to loose.
In addition to being a photographer, Mueller studied at the Allard Hall Law School, and frequently speaks at schools and business. She was recently trained as a Climate Reality Leader by Al Gore in Los Angeles as a part of his foundation The Climate Reality Project. Furthermore, she is the co-founder of the Swiss a non-profit titled The Future Planet Forum, which seeks to join science and art to work toward solutions for a sustainable future.
Capture Photo Festival, 2023 - Exhibitions
Unforgotten - My Journey Home
Curator: Marianne Otterstrom
April 1 - April 30
602 E. Hastings Street
602 E. Hastings Street
Unforgotten – My Journey Home explores the power of images in relation to memory, history, and ancestry. This visual story traces history back to Dawna Mueller’s ancestral roots in rural Manitoba. A child of the “Sixties Scoop,” Mueller was taken from her Métis/Anishinaabe mother at birth and placed in a Ukrainian family. It was only as an adult that Mueller discovered her Indigenous roots, and she has spent the last few years on a personal reclamation journey into her Indigeneity.
The Sixties Scoop refers to a series of government policies from the 1950s and ’60s whereby tens of thousands of Indigenous babies and children were taken from their birth mothers and adopted out or sold to non-Indigenous families across Canada and the United States. The Sixties Scoop, along with the residential school system, were part of the Federal Government’s attempt at the annihilation of Canada’s Indigenous peoples. The 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report brought this topic to the forefront of social, political, and legal discussion in Canada, and Unforgotten – My Journey Home is a personal narrative contextualizing a component of this abhorrent segment in Canadian history.
Unforgotten – My Journey Home is a solo exhibition composed of large-format, analogue, multiple-exposure, black-and-white photographs combining memory, history, and place. Mueller relies on the Indigenous tradition of oral history and storytelling to connect with her ancestry, creating a post-conceptual visual narrative that expresses the liminal space of bridging two cultures and finding her way back home.
The Sixties Scoop refers to a series of government policies from the 1950s and ’60s whereby tens of thousands of Indigenous babies and children were taken from their birth mothers and adopted out or sold to non-Indigenous families across Canada and the United States. The Sixties Scoop, along with the residential school system, were part of the Federal Government’s attempt at the annihilation of Canada’s Indigenous peoples. The 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report brought this topic to the forefront of social, political, and legal discussion in Canada, and Unforgotten – My Journey Home is a personal narrative contextualizing a component of this abhorrent segment in Canadian history.
Unforgotten – My Journey Home is a solo exhibition composed of large-format, analogue, multiple-exposure, black-and-white photographs combining memory, history, and place. Mueller relies on the Indigenous tradition of oral history and storytelling to connect with her ancestry, creating a post-conceptual visual narrative that expresses the liminal space of bridging two cultures and finding her way back home.
Dawna Mueller, Uncle Harold and Aunt Isabella’s Wedding 1956 (unknown photographer), 2022
Silver Gelatin Print Multiple Exposure Negative Print. 40 x 50 cm.
Silver Gelatin Print Multiple Exposure Negative Print. 40 x 50 cm.
In the News
CBC The Early Edition with Stephen Quinn CBC News Sixties Scoop survivor traces her ancestry with dark photo exhibit
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RELATED EVENTS:
This event is free.
If you would like to make a donation to support Capture Photography Festival, please donate via our registered charitable
organization Vancouver Association for Photographic Arts here. Amounts greater than $20.00 will receive a tax receipt.
In person
Registration required, please note capacity is limited
Book here
Registration closes Saturday, April 15, 2023, 11:30AM PST
Join Andrew Booth of Vancouver Art Blog for this walking tour of Capture Photography Festival’s 2023 Selected Exhibitions at Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, the Sun Wah Centre, Mónica Reyes Gallery, finishing the tour with a small reception at Monte Clark Gallery.
This tour involves substantial walking so guests are asked to be prepared in comfortable attire and for weather.
All ages are welcomed. Please note that the reception at Monte Clark may include alcohol.
Early registration is strongly encouraged as this tour has limited capacity.
Andrew Booth is an art collector and curator for the Vancouver Art Blog, an Instagram account devoted to promoting and showcasing Vancouver’s contemporary art scene.
If you would like to make a donation to support Capture Photography Festival, please donate via our registered charitable
organization Vancouver Association for Photographic Arts here. Amounts greater than $20.00 will receive a tax receipt.
In person
Registration required, please note capacity is limited
Book here
Registration closes Saturday, April 15, 2023, 11:30AM PST
Join Andrew Booth of Vancouver Art Blog for this walking tour of Capture Photography Festival’s 2023 Selected Exhibitions at Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, the Sun Wah Centre, Mónica Reyes Gallery, finishing the tour with a small reception at Monte Clark Gallery.
This tour involves substantial walking so guests are asked to be prepared in comfortable attire and for weather.
All ages are welcomed. Please note that the reception at Monte Clark may include alcohol.
Early registration is strongly encouraged as this tour has limited capacity.
Andrew Booth is an art collector and curator for the Vancouver Art Blog, an Instagram account devoted to promoting and showcasing Vancouver’s contemporary art scene.
Past Exhibition at MRG
Anthropocene | Vanishing Landscapes (2018)
Mónica Reyes Gallery is pleased to present Anthropocene - Vanishing Landscapes, a solo exhibition of photographs by artist and conservationist Dawna Mueller. Recognized for her work in bringing attention to the effects of climate change on the natural ecosystems of the world’s most remote polar and alpine regions, Mueller’s breathtaking black and white photographs illustrate both the majestic beauty of glaciers, mountains, and icebergs as well as the impact of human activity. Born in Canada but based in Switzerland, she had her first show at Mónica Reyes Gallery in 2018.
Mueller’s interest in the confluence of conservation and photography began while working in the Yukon driving heavy machinery to help finance her university studies. Thrilled with the natural beauty around her, she spent her free time exploring the untamed wilderness of the area. Upon moving to Switzerland she spent time in the Swiss Alps, where she started taking photographs that documented the negative impact of the changing climate. This project was continued by expeditions to both Greenland and Svalbard in the Arctic, as well as the Antarctic, where she witnessed the effects of melting glaciers and the detriment to the region’s wildlife. The artist notes, “The planet is in peril and the weather patterns are causing havoc in all areas of the world, no one is immune from the destruction and devastation. I want to show the beauty of what I see in these fragile ecosystems because collectively we can work together to save this planet, it is the only home we have.” Through her photography, as well as through lectures and a TEDx Talk on Vancouver Island in October 2018, Mueller hopes to illustrate the lasting repercussions of the debilitating damage to the environment. Her photos hauntingly portray what we all stand to loose.
In addition to being a photographer, Mueller studied at the Allard Hall Law School, and frequently speaks at schools and business. She was trained as a Climate Reality Leader by Al Gore in Los Angeles as a part of his foundation The Climate Reality Project.
“I have been travelling to the Arctic, Antarctic and Alpine regions for a few years now and have been photographically documenting what I see in the changing landscapes as a result of climate change and global warming. I see glaciers in full retreat or completely gone like when I was in Greenland last week. I have watched polar bears swimming for hours looking for ice. As well, I experienced record high temperatures when it should have been below zero. The planet is in peril and the weather patterns are causing havoc in all areas of the world, no one is immune from the destruction and devastation. I want to show the beauty of what I see in these fragile ecosystems because collectively we can work together to save this planet, it is the only home we have.”
Mueller’s interest in the confluence of conservation and photography began while working in the Yukon driving heavy machinery to help finance her university studies. Thrilled with the natural beauty around her, she spent her free time exploring the untamed wilderness of the area. Upon moving to Switzerland she spent time in the Swiss Alps, where she started taking photographs that documented the negative impact of the changing climate. This project was continued by expeditions to both Greenland and Svalbard in the Arctic, as well as the Antarctic, where she witnessed the effects of melting glaciers and the detriment to the region’s wildlife. The artist notes, “The planet is in peril and the weather patterns are causing havoc in all areas of the world, no one is immune from the destruction and devastation. I want to show the beauty of what I see in these fragile ecosystems because collectively we can work together to save this planet, it is the only home we have.” Through her photography, as well as through lectures and a TEDx Talk on Vancouver Island in October 2018, Mueller hopes to illustrate the lasting repercussions of the debilitating damage to the environment. Her photos hauntingly portray what we all stand to loose.
In addition to being a photographer, Mueller studied at the Allard Hall Law School, and frequently speaks at schools and business. She was trained as a Climate Reality Leader by Al Gore in Los Angeles as a part of his foundation The Climate Reality Project.
“I have been travelling to the Arctic, Antarctic and Alpine regions for a few years now and have been photographically documenting what I see in the changing landscapes as a result of climate change and global warming. I see glaciers in full retreat or completely gone like when I was in Greenland last week. I have watched polar bears swimming for hours looking for ice. As well, I experienced record high temperatures when it should have been below zero. The planet is in peril and the weather patterns are causing havoc in all areas of the world, no one is immune from the destruction and devastation. I want to show the beauty of what I see in these fragile ecosystems because collectively we can work together to save this planet, it is the only home we have.”
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We are excited to announce the contribution to the 2021 Swim Drink Fish "Artists for Water" auction with a work donated by Dawna Mueller. 
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