Wishes to come true at dreamy exhibition

Waving their tiny wands, they glitter and dance among the shadows, their rustic beauty reflected in the light. Conjured by Baie d’Urfé artist Kim Vergil, the fairies in her current exhibition at Galerie Art Neuf are reminiscent of the woodland sprites of yore – mischievous, mythological creatures who were “nature’s pranksters.”

Her imaginative creations are part of an installation at Parc Lafontaine; Dream Hom(m)age aux Reves combines Vergil’s rustic furniture – complete with forest bed – with painting, photography, and “150 organic faeries hanging from the ceiling,” she said.

The exhibit is based on “a dream theme. I’ve always been interested in dreams,” said Vergil, who took a course with and has worked with the International Association for the Study of Dreams, and helped curate a show for them in Montreal in 2008.

The show, which continues until May 17, is also a unique fundraiser for the Children’s Wish Foundation.

“I wanted to do something to raise money for sick kids. I approached the foundation and they jumped at the idea.

“For a donation of $50, people can adopt a fairy and take it home with them at the end of the show,” she said. Seventy-five per cent will go to the foundation.

Creating the fairies – which range in size from six inches to eight feet in height – “was like alchemy. Some of the wings are from dragon flies; I used twigs, bark, nuts, leaves, even turkey wish bones. I love to take materials from nature and give them another life. I love the spirit, the transformation.”

Part of the fairies’ appeal stems from their “fragility. But then life itself is fragile,” she mused.

“Fairies are magic,” she said, adding that in a symbolic sense perhaps the dreams and wishes of sick children can be borne aloft on their wings.

In conjunction with the foundation’s 25th anniversary, the vernissage will be held April 25 from 2 to 5 p.m. Galerie Art Neuf, 3829 Calixa-Lavallee St., Montreal.