Janice Wright-Cheney Reflects on Caribou

Considering Absence: Janice Wright-Cheney’s Tracing a Caribou

 

NBCCD Instructor Explores Art and Memory in Tracing a Caribou

At the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design (NBCCD), faculty do more than teach. They actively contribute to contemporary art and design conversations. Foundation Visual Arts instructor Janice Wright-Cheney exemplifies this through her latest collaborative project, an artist book titled Tracing a Caribou.

 

A Collaborative Artistic Journey

Created alongside artists asinnajaq and Reuben Mark Stewart, Tracing a Caribou is a reflective work that explores the absence of caribou in New Brunswick. This absence is felt in the landscape and in our cultural memory.

The project began as a mentorship through Connexion ARC, where Wright-Cheney and Stewart worked closely together before inviting additional collaborators. What started as a series of drawings, watercolours, textiles, and writings gradually evolved into an artist book designed to be an integrated work of art.

“The book is the art,” Wright-Cheney explains. “These works were created specifically to exist within this format, not as separate pieces, but as part of a unified experience.”

Designing the Experience

The sense of cohesion is central to Tracing a Caribou. Designed by NBCCD alumna Erin Goodine, the book features thoughtful elements such as vellum overlays and fold-out pages. Images of caribou appear layered over maps and text, creating a ghost-like presence that reflects the book’s theme of absence. The design becomes an extension of the narrative itself.

Reflecting on Loss and Memory

At its core, the project is a meditation on loss. Wright-Cheney conducted archival research, discovering historical correspondence documenting the gradual disappearance of caribou in the region.

“There is a sadness in realizing how something disappears,” she reflects. “It is a kind of grief, not only for what is gone but also for the fact that many people do not even know it was ever here.”

asinnajaq’s contributions provide a contrasting perspective, offering hope and connection through lived experience with caribou in northern communities. Together, the collaborators create a nuanced exploration that balances mourning with remembrance.

Teaching and Practice

Alongside her artistic work, Wright-Cheney continues to inspire students in NBCCD’s Foundation Visual Arts program. While her teaching and studio practices differ in medium, they remain closely connected.

“Teaching keeps me engaged with contemporary art and design,” Wright-Cheney says. “That ongoing research and dialogue feeds back into my own practice.”

Students benefit from instructors who are actively exhibiting, publishing, and collaborating. This approach provides a learning environment where education extends beyond the classroom into professional creative practice.

Launch and Impact

Tracing a Caribou launched on October 23 at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, marking an important moment for the artists involved. The book also contributes to a broader conversation about place, history, and environmental memory in New Brunswick, offering readers an intimate and thoughtful reflection on the absence of this iconic species.