A commute to work 11 years ago changed Patrick Thomas Wood’s life forever.
The art teacher was driving in snowy conditions, from his home in Mission to Surrey — along a hill on Harris Road — when he was sideswiped by another vehicle.
Wood has no recollection of the crash that left him with a brain injury and no sense of smell, and caused blindness in his left eye and daily headaches. His short-term memory was also affected but recollections from his childhood as well as his days as an art student were somewhat preserved.
As he recovered over the next four years, the newly married Wood discovered a sketchbook he had while at the Emily Carr University of Art + Design and employed a technique that saved his art career.
Using Gestalt principles, which form the basis of many design rules today, Wood began to get back into the groove with grid painting. He would create one small square at a time and, when the canvas was filled, the pattern with a full image would emerge. “I still do that today,” said Wood who, on Friday, opens his first solo show at Coquitlam’s Place des Arts with an oils and mixed media collection called Whispering through Concrete.
The title of his exhibit refers to his disability. “It’s me after the accident. When you have a brain injury, people tend to think that it can’t work properly but the problem is that your thoughts are happening so quickly and it takes so long to get them out of your mouth that, in the end, you forget three-quarters of what you were going to say…. It’s very frustrating, like whispering through concrete.”
Wood, 57, will have about 40 pieces on show in the Leonore Peyton Salon this month including some images from his previous consumer/Consumer Her series, which happens to tie in with the #MeToo movement.
Wood said his art therapy using Gestalt guidelines have allowed him to be in his studio every day; last year, he churned out 130 pieces.
Meanwhile, also opening Friday is The Beauty of Korean (ceramics by Clay for You) in the Atrium Gallery and Artificial Flare (photography by Candice Okada) in the Mezzanine Gallery.
• The reception runs Friday from 7 to 9 p.m. at Place des Arts (1120 Brunette Ave., Coquitlam). The artists will be in attendance. Call 604-664-1636 or visit placedesarts.ca. The three exhibitions end June 2.
