Original Wood Assemblage - 'Gulf Island Triptych'

Laird Campbell is a Vancouver Island–based artist whose practice is rooted in the landscape and living history of coastal British Columbia. Working with reclaimed and found wood, he builds abstract compositions that are as much about time and place as they are about form — each piece shaped by the character of its materials and the geography that surrounds his studio. Campbell aspires, in his own words, "to work as easily with wood as though it were a pencil, so I can scribble and doodle until there’s something worth strengthening and polishing."

The Gulf Islands — that scattered archipelago of forested rock and salt water between Vancouver Island and the mainland — have long held a particular pull for artists and wanderers. In 'Gulf Island Triptych', Campbell distills that landscape into three connected panels: the horizontal sweep of the composition echoing the low, elongated silhouette of islands seen from the water, the varied textures of the wood suggesting rock face, driftwood, and the layered strata of the coast. It is a work that asks you to slow down and look, the way the islands themselves do.

This original work is a Wood Assemblage: a hand-built composition of numerous reclaimed wood pieces, each chosen for its grain, age, and surface quality. The three panels are designed to be exhibited together as a unified triptych, their horizontal flow creating a single, panoramic reading across the wall.

Medium: Original Wood Assemblage (reclaimed and found wood)
Format: Triptych — three panels exhibited as one work
Dimensions: 7" × 40" (overall)
Authenticity: One-of-a-kind original; signed by the artist

Exhibited: Cowichan Performing Arts Theatre, 2015 (Solo Exhibition); Federation of Canadian Artists Gallery, 2025 Exhibiting Member Exhibition