Marjan Verstappen’s practice encompasses drawing, sculpture, photography, and working with communities. Through these actions she explores concepts of mystery, truth, and how narratives about a place can be woven through objects and drawings. Atlas to Nowhere brings together a new body of work drawn from the mid Canterbury landscape and the histories and documents held in public and private archives which speak to the relationship between mass extinction and the colonial mindset.

Verstappen was born in New Zealand, where she received her BFA in Sculpture from Dunedin School of Art. She moved to Canada in 2012 and graduated from OCAD University with an MFA in 2014. She lives and works in Toronto, where she is co-director of Younger Than Beyoncé (YTB) Gallery.

Image credits: Marjan Verstappen, Atlas of Nowhere, work in progress, 2019