Gabryel Harrison's latest exhibition, All The Things I Never Said, is a series of mixed-media paintings incorporating Braille, which the poet and painter succinctly says is about sex, death and money. The former New Zealander took time from her busy schedule to discuss love, language and subtle nuances of wearing leather pants.

1. What brought you to Canada all the way from New Zealand?

My parents love for their children. Their spirit of curiosity and adventure. They left their own home, England, for NZ where I was born. They left NZ with us as small children to return to their ancestral home. They left England to immigrate to Canada again for their children. They wanted physical and emotional space without the tyranny of the British class system.

2. What do you like the most about living in Vancouver?

The rain. The dark, wet length of the winters acts as a creative cocoon. I love the freedom and openness of consciousness I meet in people living on this western edge of land suspended over the St. Andres Fault, like the sword of Damocles in reverse. Knowing it can all end in a moment... do the work while you can.

3. What do you miss about New Zealand?

The wild empty beaches, the irreverent and passionate relationship to all that's held precious about life, the pace of life that allows stops for afternoon tea all times of the day, and my extended family.

4. Could you describe the neighbourhood you live in and why you live there?

I can describe the neighbourhood of my studio and why I choose to paint there. Southlands is a rare opportunity to practise painting in a studio situated at the confluence of many boundaries. I am on the edge of a very affluent area given to large properties with people who love their land and their horses. There is Southlands Heritage Farm educating children about farm practices and sustainability and a family-run nursery. I am on the very edge of the Fraser River, busy with tugs and barges and yachts, as well as crumbling remnants of a former way of life evidenced in the old dock and buildings of the Japanese fishing community once lively on the Fraser. I have a rural feeling minutes from downtown. I have silence, the sound of owls in the night, I can see the stars and smell manure. The river soothes and keeps in perspective the reality that everything disappears.

5. What attracted you to incorporating Braille into your new works?

Braille has been a part of my painting practice for at least 10 years. I first found pages in a junk shop. Intrigued by their texture and unknown content, I created my first piece of art with them by incorporating text I had written: "Though blinded, we know love by its touch." This experience of understanding the vast amount of potentials unknown to us, yet available by tuning in to other channels such as meditation or the guidance we receive by trusting our intuition, the trust we place in instinct or gods or information we receive from the unseen world, Braille became a metaphor. Working with Braille allows for my love of writing poetry to become visible in the medium of painting.

6. In a few photos I've seen of you, I notice you're wearing leather pants. What's the secret to rocking a pair of leather pants?

Leather must be inhabited not worn. Embodied, full bodied, with depth, richness, complexity and intensity... like wine, leather pants get better with age. Fit like a second skin. Fit you close as your lover's heart.

7. How many pairs do you own and do you ever paint in them?

I own three pairs right now. I do paint in them. I had one pair worn so long in the studio I reluctantly had to let go of them, covered in paint and tears.

8. When you're not painting, what do you do for fun and relaxation?

I want to be with the woman I love.

9. What are your best and worst personality traits?

My best personality trait is my ability to see beauty in everything. My worst... is the narcissism that leads to such self-absorbed habits as collecting leather pants.

10. Why should people check out All The Things I Never Said Nov. 4 to 27 at Winsor Gallery?

Art at its best opens us to some new way of looking at the world, it leads you to an inner frontier and asks you to look deeper... you should take every opportunity to touch some new edge in yourself. If you come with openness, something is waiting for you. If you are awake and alive right now on this earth, you may be asking yourself the same questions I am considering in this show. Bring your curiosity, and it's a great place to rock those leathers you are secretly hiding in the back of your closet.

--Michael Kissinger

mkissinger@vancourier.com