Art Island S2E9: Persimmon Blackbridge - Sculptor

In the final episode of ART ISLAND Season 2, filmmaker Zsofin Sheehy meets Persimmon Blackbridge in her Anderson Road home and studio. From struggling to colour inside the lines as a child to discovering sculpture during a time of personal crisis, Persimmon turned carving into a transformative outlet for self-expression. Her mixed-media wood constructions combine carved wood, discarded objects, and found materials, creating visceral works that challenge norms and celebrate identity. Persimmon’s art reflects her journey as a lesbian and a person with disabilities, exploring themes of stigma, resilience, and the human form. For her, the creative process is a grounding force, a space to confront self-doubt, embrace frustration, and channel raw emotion. Through her work, she invites us into a world where imperfection, intuition, and authenticity fuel beauty and connection. [About Persimmon Blackbridge] For over 45 years, Persimmon Blackbridge has been a trailblazing sculptor, writer, curator, and performer. Her contributions to queer art began with Still Sane (1984), a collaboration exploring the psychiatric incarceration of lesbians, and continued with her work in the 1990s as part of the lesbian art collective Kiss & Tell. Their projects, including Drawing the Line and True Inversions, challenged censorship and reshaped feminist discourse. A pioneer in disability arts, Blackbridge’s Sunnybrook: A True Story with Lies examined abuse in the Woodlands Institution and won the Ferro-Grumley Prize. In 1998, her collaboration with former Woodlands inmates on From the Inside/Out helped secure reparations for survivors. Later, her exhibit Constructed Identities reframed disability as central to, not separate from, human experience. Blackbridge’s art consistently challenges societal norms, addressing oppression, identity, and institutional abuse and recently, the impacts of climate change on us all. [Art Island: Perspectives from a Creative Community] Who are the individuals that comprise the vibrant artistic community of Hornby Island? This 10-episode docu-series looks into the personal lives and artistic perspectives of local artists — our community members. Expanding on how they became artists, what inspires their art, challenges they've encountered, and how they persevered, Art Island is a deep dive into why artists feel art is important and how it has the power to affect us all. [Credits] A Film By - Zsofin Sheehy Associate Producer - Emma Walter Location Sound - Emma Walter Sound Mix & Design - Matt Copeland Title Animation - Grigorii Kniagnitskii Colour - Bogdan Mykytenko [Music] The Alkemist Photos courtesy of: Della McCreary ART ISLAND was created on the unceded traditional territory of the K’ómoks First Nation, the traditional keepers of this land. Funding for this episode of ART ISLAND is provided by the Canada Council for the Arts, BC Arts Council, and the Province of British Columbia. ©2025