Jerry Pethick

Jerry Pethick, a sculptor and multimedia artist, was born in London, Ontario in 1935. In 1957 he left Canada to study at the Chelsea College of Art in the UK and subsequently became an associate of the Royal College of Art. In 1968, he moved to the United States to study holography in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and later cofounded a holography school in San Francisco before settling on Hornby Island with his wife and son in 1975.

Pethick first became known for his pioneering work with holography during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The disruption of visual perception and the experiential nature of art remained central to his work throughout his career, which culminated in large-scale photographic arrays and playful sculptures through the 1990s and early 2000s. He often incorporated found objects from the recycling depot on Hornby Island, juxtaposing their junkyard qualities with a sophisticated and rigourous fascination with science, technology, and art history in works that are both visual and conceptual.

Pethick lived and worked on Hornby Island until his death on July 7, 2003.