ASHLEY SNOOK
Ashley Snook is a Toronto-based interdisciplinary artist and is currently a third-year PhD student in the Art and Visual Culture program at Western University in London, Ontario. In her practice, Snook examines interconnectivity between human and nonhuman animals, and vegetal/botanical life. Currently, her research revolves around the notion of animality, proposing a historically informed, post-human perspective regarding animality, with the intent to problematize a spectrum of human-centric, socio-cultural and scientific frameworks. Both her writing and studio practice are invested in exposing hegemonic forces that enabled rampant environmental degradation, and destructive human-animal relationships. Snook’s studio work aims to fuse conceptual separations through sculpture, installation and drawing. 
​Snook received her BFA from Nipissing University in 2014, following her MFA from OCAD University in 2016. She is a recipient of numerous awards from the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), and the Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program (OGS). Currently, Snook is also participating in the GardenShip & State project, curated by Jeff Thomas and Patrick Mahon, which will be on display at Museum London beginning September 2021.. Please visit her website.

Earth Day 2021: Stop Extinction! Restore the Earth

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Ashley Snook, "VHD VHD", glass, hair, sand, organic material, essential oils: lavender, lemon, cypress, mint, patchouli, recorded sound, 2019
Ashley Snook, VHD VHD, 2019

VHD VHD is an installation that explores the complexities of our interconnected existence by emphasizing the sensory elements of sight, sound, and smell, and encapsulating aspects of biophilic curiosity, while troubling the desire to retain positive energy.
 
Within the current epoch of the Anthropocene, VHD VHD explores how human and nonhuman species live within and without natural systems amongst, landscapes and spacescapes. This installation questions how one can obtain and maintain positive energy in a time of immense destruction. Here I contend that our human proximity to nature is known to have an affective impact on our wellbeing, given that being close to nature can counteract negativity and increase pleasant feelings. However, we need to ask, how do we hold, retain, and perhaps store positive energy on a depleting planet? This installation emphasizes the realities of human and nonhuman life, particularly the continuous cycle of life and death, while addressing the challenge to find inner peace during a time of ecological destruction.

Recent work by Ashley

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Fernigen C. Thicket, (detail)
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Fernigen C. Thicket, Artificial grass, plaster fingers, crystals, essential oils: cedar wood; pine; balsam fir; eucalyptus; vetiver, recorded sound, 2018
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(Intra)terior Vessel, Wax, dog fur, plaster, 2016
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An Interspecies Memoir, Polyester resin, hair, 2016
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Hybrid (In)synced, Drawing with chia seeds and seed paper, 3'x4', 2016
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An Interspecies Memoir, Polyester resin, hair, 2016
EDITORIAL TEAM

ONLINE FOUNDER
Tariq Hassan Gordon

COFOUNDERS & CURATORIAL ADVISORS  
Jamelie Hassan & Ron Benner

ADVISORY CIRCLE
Samer Abdelnour, Marnie Fleming, Wyn Geleynse, Fern Helfand, S F Ho, Lorraine Klaasen, Judith Rodger, Ruth Skinner, Mary Lou and Dan Smoke,  and Lucas Stenning 

COORDINATING EDITORS
Tariq Hassan Gordon & Olivia Mossuto

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Blessy Augustine, Anahí González, Ira Kazi, ​Shelley Kopp, Ashar Mobeen & Michelle Wilson. 

VIRTUAL TOUR
Andreas Buchwaldt
OUR STORY
Artists Jamelie Hassan and Ron Benner and jazz musician Eric Stach founded the Embassy Cultural House (1983-1990) located in the restaurant portion of the Embassy Hotel at 732 Dundas Street in East London. In 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Embassy Cultural House was re-envisioned as a virtual artist-run space and website. 
The Embassy Cultural House gratefully acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council and the London Arts Council through the City of London's Community Arts Investment Program.
The Embassy Cultural House is thankful for the Mentorship program established by the Visual Arts department and the continued support of the students and faculty of Arts & Humanities at Western University. 

Thank you to our partners

E M B A S S Y  C U L T U R A L  H O U S E . C A

The Embassy Cultural House (ECH) is located in London, Ontario, Canada on the traditional lands of the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Lenape, Attawandaron and Huron-Wendat peoples, at the forks of Deshkan Ziibi (Antler River), an area subject to the Dish with One Spoon Wampum and other treaties. The ECH strives to create meaningful relationships between the Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island and our contributors. The ECH honours the stewardship of the many Indigenous peoples who have resided on these lands since time immemorial. 
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