Pilar Mehlis’ life and art shows stark contrasts.
Born in New York City and raised in Bolivia, Mehlis and her family immigrated to the Yukon when she was 12; there, she took her first painting lesson before returning to La Paz five years later.
Mehlis moved back to Whitehorse halfway through her art studies then relocated to Victoria, where she gained her BFA in 1998 from UVic.
In her art, the Vancouver resident draws on her travels: Her latest show, Transmigrification, which opened March 28 at the Port Moody Arts Centre (2425 St. Johns St.), features paintings and sculptures exploring human and animal movements in anthropomorphic forms such as the AntroFish — a half human, half fish figure.
