Artist launches new book
Calls Christian community to creation care
STREAMS IN THE WASTELAND is a book of art by Josh Tiessen (www.JoshTiessen.com) that calls readers and art enthusiasts alike to care for the creation that surrounds us. The 26-year-old award-winning painter from Stoney Creek, Ont., takes readers on a fascinating journey where wild animals reclaim abandoned human spaces and ancient civilizations. Tiessen’s collection of 17 hyper-realist paintings and personal writings are inspired heavily by the wild animals that honour God in Isaiah 43:20.
The paintings, which take between 200 and 1,700 hours each to create, have had solo exhibitions in galleries from New York to L.A. During the pandemic, Tiessen decided to cap off the series with a full-colour coffee table book that challenges readers to consider environmental conservation as a biblical call.
“Unfortunately, some Christians are polarized on the issue about caring for the environment. I try to show through the book that we need art to shape our views of the outdoors. What we love is often what we care for the most, and art has a role to play in this.” Accompanying the book is a CD containing 17 musical tracks composed by Tiessen’s brother Zac, who studied film scoring at UCLA. Each song is inspired by a painting, providing readers with an acoustic and visual experience as they journey through the book. Terry Glaspey, an American Christian author, provides the introduction.
The collection evokes varying emotions – haunting, triumphant, sacrificial – but one painting in particular, Whale Hymn, holds a special place for Tiessen. Completed during his struggle with Lyme disease, “It’s a reminder of creation’s praise and how I need to have that posture with God even through challenging times.”
He hopes his books create a sense of wonder, mystery and appreciation for beauty. “But I hope it also inspires action to take care of the natural world that we’ve been entrusted to steward.”