Using the principles in mathematics of tiling and patterning, Tristesse Seeliger disassembles and then reassembles maps that focus on the shapes, textures and colour to recreate new territories. A Vancouver artist working in mixed media, Tristesse uses painting and collage that focuses on geometry, territories, perception and cartography.

Tristesse Seeliger is a graduate of Emily Carr University of Art and Design and has been an art teacher for 17 years with the Vancouver School Board. She stumbled upon this idea of collaging historical maps when trying to develop ways to teach both art and math in her classroom. She writes in her bio, “Serendipitously, my friends at Contexture Design were moving shop and had to get rid of their collection of maps. When I saw these maps with their beautiful colour palettes and textures I immediately thought I needed to tile them.”

At artmania, we believe in developing art classes that incorporate other educational disciplines; demonstrating the connection between everything in our universe. In a previous blog post, Breaking the Barrier between Art and Mathematics, we explained that “There is art in mathematics and mathematics in art. One can not exist without the other.”

It’s no surprise we love Tristesse’s work! Her work uses the principles of art to transform something old into something new. On her website, Tristesse Seeliger explains that her art holds, “new spaces and places that coax the brain to drift from the analytical to the sensory, and to delight in what is sensual, familiar, and universal. With the use of maps abstracted into pieces, my work becomes rich with metaphor, as both universal and personal meaning about ways of perceiving the known and unknown are explored, and notions of territory are revisited.”

You may have stumbled upon Tristesse’s work in December 2015 at the Vancouver Lululemon Lab. She collaborated with Lululemon to create a winter window installation to highlight their commitment to recycling and sustainable practices by shifting patterns and perspectives. As a response, Tristesse made a mountain of Necker cubes collaged from the used scrap papers directly from their lab. The final piece was called Shifting Patterns / Shifting Perspectives: We are the Conscious Collective.

Follow Tristesse on Instagram to find out about her upcoming shows. Her next show is at the Chali-Rosso Gallery in Vancouver from March 10 – 23, 2017.

And view some of her awesome work at Artmania, in the Dundarave studio. Come by to witness the exquisite detail and memorizing patterns for yourself.