BETWEEN WORLDS
An exhibition by Mikayla Seaton & Joyce Verma
Join us at the Opening Reception on Sunday September 12th, from 7-9pm. There will be live music from JennaMae with complimentary appetizers and a cash bar.
We often think of our lives as existing in one place, but in reality, we are constantly moving between worlds.
There is the world around us and the world within us. The places we come from and the places we are becoming part of. Solitude and connection. Home and away. What can be seen from the outside, and everything happening beneath the surface.
Between Worlds brings together the contrasting practices of Mikayla and Joyce to explore this space in between.
Mikayla’s landscapes look outward, toward mountains, forests, changing skies and the wild spaces of the natural world. Her work is shaped by living away from where she grew up, caught between the familiarity of home, family and old friendships, and the independence and uncertainty of building a life as an artist elsewhere.
Joyce’s bright, contemporary figurative folk art inspired by her Saskatchewan roots, turns toward people: their personalities, relationships, inner lives and the colourful, complicated experience of being human.
Together, these two perspectives tell a larger story.
Throughout the exhibition, the artists play with the relationship between these worlds, sometimes allowing one painting to lead into another. A distant cabin within a landscape might hold a small glowing window; another work brings us through that window, revealing the people, colour and life inside. One artist sees the world from the outside looking in, while the other brings us closer.
These paired perspectives invite us to consider how much exists beyond what we immediately see.
A landscape can hold a memory. A room can hold an entire life. A person can appear one way while carrying a completely different world within them. A place can feel like home while we long for somewhere else.
Between Worlds is about living somewhere in the middle and realizing that the space between two worlds is not something we need to escape. It is where much of being human actually happens.
Joyce Verma
Joyce is a self-taught artist, born in India and shaped by her upbringing in the prairies of Saskatchewan. She finds inspiration in the places and people she has encountered throughout her life.
Joyce’s bright, contemporary figurative folk art is rooted in her time spent in Saskatchewan as well as the last 10 years living on Vancouver Island. Her work focuses on people, their personalities, relationships, and the colourful and sometimes complicated experience of being human. She draws inspiration from folklore, bright landscapes, indoor spaces, and everyday moments, bringing them together through playful imagery and bold colour.
Moving often and living in new places has given Joyce a love for observing the little details of different environments and the lives that happen within them. Her paintings often reflect a mix of memories, places, and experiences collected throughout her life.
While her career as a Registered Dental Hygienist here in Whistler is rooted in caring for people, her art offers another way of observing and understanding them. Joyce continues to explore her style through curiosity, whimsy, and seeing the little moments of charm around her.
Mikayla Seaton
Mikayla Seaton is a self-taught artist originally from Terrace, British Columbia and currently based in Whistler, BC. Growing up surrounded by mountains, rivers, forests, and an ever-changing landscape shaped a deep connection to the natural world that continues to sit at the heart of her practice.
Working primarily in acrylic, Mikayla creates vibrant, atmospheric landscapes inspired by the places she has lived, travelled through, and felt connected to. Her paintings often heighten the colours and character of the natural world, blending observation with imagination to create landscapes that feel familiar yet slightly dreamlike. Through dramatic colour, light, movement, and moments of whimsy, she aims to capture not only what a place looks like, but how it feels to be there.
Alongside her studio practice, Mikayla has created murals, public art, commissioned works, and large-scale installations throughout British Columbia. Whether working on an intimate canvas or a large public piece, her work is grounded in curiosity, connection, and a desire to bring a little more wonder to the landscapes we move through every day.