Lisa Wood | SHIFT/WORK: Portraits of Precarity

SHIFT/WORK: Portraits of Precarity is a multimedia research-creation project by artist Lisa Wood. The exhibition emerges from "Precarious Work and Mental Health: Exploring Uncertainty through Research-Creation", a multidisciplinary initiative supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Developed in collaboration with counselling psychologist Breanna Lawrence (University of Victoria) and rural health geographer Rachel Herron (Brandon University), the project centers the lived experiences of rural Manitobans navigating insecure, short-term, and contract-based work.

The exhibition brings together more than two years of research through layered paintings, sculptural forms, sound collages, and narrative drawings. These works were created by Wood alongside artist research assistants Renata Truelove, Michael Vachon, and Dhairya Vaidya, drawing directly from participant interviews and photo- and text-based responses. Rather than simply illustrating data, the artworks translate personal reflections into visual and sensory forms that speak to uncertainty, adaptation, and the everyday realities of precarious employment, including its impact on family life.

At the core of the project is the belief that artistic practice can hold complexity in ways traditional research formats often cannot. Through painting, drawing, sculpture, and sound, the work explores fragmentation, entanglement, and resilience—keeping participant voices central while inviting viewers to engage emotionally as well as intellectually.

SHIFT/WORK operates at the intersection of community engagement, academic research, and artistic production, treating these approaches as interconnected rather than separate. A brochure accompanying the exhibition includes a collaborative text by guest writers Chelsey Campbell and Kerri-Lynn Reeves, commissioned by the School of Art Gallery.

Artist

Lisa Wood is a visual artist, mother and partner from Scottish-Icelandic Canadian settler ancestry living in Treaty 2 Territory (Brandon, Manitoba). Her figurative art practice—shaped by her upbringing with her single mother and her life-long chronic health conditions—broadly investigates inclusion, marginalization and interpersonal connections. Wood received her BFA from the University of Manitoba, and her MFA from Yale University, and has been the recipient of many awards and scholarships. She exhibits her painting and prints nationally and internationally, and currently holds the position of Associate Professor at IshKaabatens Waasa Gaa Inaabateg Department of Visual Art at Brandon University.

Contributing Artists

Renata Truelove is an emerging artist and recent Brandon University graduate, majoring in Psychology and minoring in Drawing. Aspiring to work in the field of art therapy, Renata is passionate about how creative expression can promote well-being and serve as a meaningful research modality. The Shift/Work project provided her with a wonderful opportunity to work at the intersection of her interests which center on integrating creative approaches to learning and mental health research, care, and practice.

Michael Vachon is a Drawing Major pursuing his BFA at Brandon University. He grew up on his family farm outside of Oak Lake Manitoba, and has first-hand experience with precarious work and rural living. Michael was commissioned to contribute drawings to the recently released book “Uncut: A Cultural Analysis of the Foreskin”, by Dr. Jonathan Allan, and is set to be the first ever visual art student to graduate from the Co-op program at Brandon University in 2027.

Dhairya Vaidya was born in Gujarat, India in 2002. He has pursued training in a range of mediums and styles, including acrylics, watercolour, oil, graphite, charcoal, and coloured pencil. Dhairya experiments with hybrid mediums consisting of both traditional and digital art. Dhairya is currently pursuing his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in drawing and digital art in a joint program between Brandon University and Assiniboine College in Brandon, Canada. 

Technical Support

Brendon Ehinger is a Red River Métis/Settler multi-instrumentalist and sound artist based in Brandon, MB, Canada. He is employed as an audio technician on this project to create the thematically organized sound pieces based on interview recordings. Since 2016, he has been using a combination of modular synthesis, acoustic instrumentation, live mic input and field recordings to explore the acoustic ecology of relationships between technology and the environment. He has performed solo and collaboratively in alternative spaces, galleries and venues in Canada and Europe.” 

Researchers

Breanna Lawrence, PhD, is Associate Professor in Educational Psychology and Leadership Studies at the University of Victoria and Principal Investigator for Precarious Work and Mental Health: Exploring Uncertainty through Research-Creation. Her research explores intersections of mental health, career, and learning through ecological resilience and relational developmental systems frameworks.

Rachel Herron, PhD, is Professor in Geography and Environment at Brandon University, Tier II Canada Research Chair in Rural and Remote Mental Health, and founding Director of the Centre for Critical Studies of Rural Mental Health. Her work examines safety in care settings, social inclusion, and diverse experiences of mental health.

Guest Writers

Text written in collaborative dialogue by Chelsey Campbell and Kerri-Lynn Reeves in ᐊᒥᐢᑿᒌᐚᐢᑲᐦᐃᑲᐣ / Amiskwacîwâskahikan / Edmonton / Treaty 6 Territory.

Chelsey Campbell (they/them) is a queer crip artist, educator, and activist whose work explores disability justice, feminized care labour, and crip kinship through autoethnographic storytelling and community-based practices. Campbell holds a BFA and MFA from the University of Alberta and works as sessional faculty at MacEwan University and the University of Alberta.

Kerri-Lynn Reeves is an artist, educator, and mother originally from rural Manitoba, where she grew up as a European-Canadian settler on Treaty 2 territory. Through craft and material practices, she explores relationships between social and material worlds, blurring boundaries between life, art, teaching, and parenting. Reeves holds a BFA from the University of Manitoba and an MFA from Concordia University and recently secured tenure as Associate Professor in Studio Arts at MacEwan University. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, with a focus on care aesthetics and accessibility in academic and art spaces.