WESTLAND GALLERY - INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY
MARCH 3-28, 2026

Roberta Cory is a hunter-gatherer / mixed media artist. Drawing on her extensive art background, she knows intuitively when a thrift store object has potential. “The Air We Breathe,” the piece in the recent show at Westland Gallery, features the refineries in Sarnia which are located on the land of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation (formerly Chippewa of Sarnia). 

In the 1920s, this piece of land was sold, never anticipating its development as the site for 60 refineries.  Benzene, one of several atmospheric pollutants, causes cancer. This is a life-and-death political issue for the Indigenous families on the reserve. The style of this piece draws from the Mughal Miniatures of the 18th century with their non-Western depiction of space. The viewer reads the piece moving up vertically. Roberta likes the blocks of calligraphy intersecting with the painted objects.

This unique piece was sold in the final week of the Westland Gallery show.