Laura Amethyst Mackenzie is a Graduate of the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree program at Thompson Rivers University. She was born in Kamloops, BC in the traditional territory of the Secwépemc people.

As an artist, Laura’s art focus has been in painting, drawing, sculpture, analogue and digital photography in a wide range of subjects such as Polytheistic Spirituality and its Commodification, Healing Intergenerational Trauma and Feminism, Photographic Collections of Vernacular Artifacts, Anthropology, Archeology and Post-Colonial Critique. More recently, her areas of focus have been examining questions of land use, created mythologies and aspects of colonization through photo-based work. She is keen to enter into the conversation of decolonization and identifies as Métis through her mother’s side.

After graduation, Laura plans to study Psychology in preparation for attending a Master’s program in Art Therapy or Fine Arts. She plans to become a therapist or an art instructor and continue her artistic practice. As a trauma survivor she hopes to use her education and life experiences in her future career to help others heal and explore their creative abilities.

Laura has exhibited work at the TRU Gallery throughout her education including:

• Now Try the How and Why, curated by Sophia Dodic (April 2020)
• LGBTQ Exhibition, curated by Jean Graham (April 2020)
• Beyond The Self to The Selfie (Oct 15-31 2019) curated by Lyn Richards and Sophia Dodic
• Still Life: An Exhibition of Nature Mortes (Jan 29 – Feb 13 2019) curated by Deb Fong
• Expansions: Diverse Approaches to Drawing and Painting (Feb 27 – Mar 8 2018) curated by Emily Dundas Oke