January 15 – May 16, 2026
Opening Reception: Thursday, January 15, 5pm – 7pm | Remarks at 5:45pm | Artists in attendance
This event is free and open to the public. Visitor parking information

David Spriggs, Aeturnum, 2025, acrylic, acrylic paint on layered acrylic sheets, LED light box, 40 ¾″ × 40″ × 11 ¾″.

Atmospheric Shifts
Wally Dion, Lisa Hirmer, and David Spriggs

Curated by Helen Gregory

Philosopher Timothy Morton describes climate change as a hyperobject—an entity that is so massively dispersed across time and space that we are incapable of truly comprehending it. We can imagine ourselves in relation to the recent past, the here and now, and the near future. However, it is more challenging to understand how we play a part in a trajectory that spans from the ancient past to thousands of years in the future. While our individual actions may not have any statistical impact on the environment, over time, the collective actions of the seven billion humans who inhabit the Earth have added up and brought us to the present moment.

Our complicity in a planetary change—an atmospheric shift—that unfolds over millennia is seemingly ungraspable. Yet, the effects of human activity are not only apparent on the surface of the Earth but also in the boundary layer that surrounds it. The artists in this exhibition consider the current environmental moment—an era marked by the impact of global warming and the corresponding increase in severe weather events—and imagine our human position within this reality. Lisa Hirmer presents a series of poetic images that reflect how the atmosphere is permanently impacted by the actions of humans. Inspired by satellite imagery of storm systems, David Spriggs reflects on how technology mediates our understanding of nature. And Wally Dion invokes cinematic references to imagine the spiritual forces responsible for the creation of tornadoes.

These new works, all created for this exhibition, are placed in conversation with works from McIntosh Gallery’s permanent collection, public and corporate collections, and material culture derived from research conducted by the Northern Tornadoes Project, the Northern Hail Project, and the Northern Mesonet Project in Western University’s Faculty of Engineering.

This exhibition was produced with the generous support of the Canadian Severe Storms Laboratory and the WindEEE Dome, Western University.

Andrew Maize, (s)twerH (spin), 2022, mixed media installation, dimensions variable.

*(s)twerH
Andrew Maize

Curated by Helen Gregory

The term *(s)twerH is derived from a hypothetical proto-Indo-European word meaning “rotate, swirl, twirl, move around.” It the speculative root of many words, including disturb, turbulence, tumult, turmoil, turbine, and storm. Maize embraces the unpredictable nature of turbulence and its relationship, both real and metaphorical, to fluid dynamics, climate change, and the societal moment in which we live. We are indeed living in turbulent times—socially, politically, and environmentally.

*(s)twerH takes the form of a laboratory/studio where, from January 16 to February 12, Maize will work as artist-in-residence to further develop a body of work that considers the fundamental nature of indeterminacy. Inspired by the work of climate scientists on the complexity of turbulence and the increased prevalence of severe storms, Maize explores potential common ground between scientific and artistic research. He considers how research methodologies from different disciplines might complement one another and lead to a more nuanced understanding of our relationship with the Earth’s forces. With an art practice rooted in playful experimentation, Maize wonders what we might learn if, instead of relying on what can be predicted, we accept the chaotic and the unpredictable.

This exhibition was produced with the generous support of the Canadian Severe Storms Laboratory, Western University.

Lisa Hirmer, Atmospheric Beings, 2025, photograph, 28″ x 42″, 1 of 5 panels.

Related Programming:

Andrew Maize, Artist in Residence
Monday, January 19 – Thursday, February 13
Maize’s scheduled hours in the gallery will be communicated weekly through McIntosh Gallery’s social media channels.

Mobile and Kinetic Sculpture Workshop with Andrew Maize
January 24, 12pm – 4pm
TAP Centre for Creativity, 203 Dundas St, London, ON (accessible)
Free and open to the public. Space is limited and registration is required.
Register here

In this hands-on workshop participants will explore the work of Alexander Calder, the history of mobiles and kinetic sculptures, and learn strategies and techniques to animate their own mobile compositions. Participants will discuss the physics of mobiles and the various approaches and techniques of creating movement and balance using a variety of materials.

a space of cloud/not cloud
February 9, 10am – 12pm and 1pm – 3pm, University College Hill, Western University
February 10, 10am – 1pm, McIntosh Gallery

This playful collaborative performance between Andrew Maize and Lisa Hirmer builds on their collective research on turbulence as a way of thinking about contemporary conditions of life on this planet. Bringing together kites, wind catchers, and smoke bombs, join the artists at as they experiment with(in) local wind and weather conditions on Western campus.

Panel Discussion: Atmospheric Shifts and Turbulent Times
Thursday February 26, 7pm – 9pm
Free / Registration required (Zoom link forthcoming)

Join us for a thought-provoking panel discussion with artists Wally Dion, Lisa Hirmer, Andrew Maize, and David Spriggs, moderated by Curator Helen Gregory. Hosted live on Zoom, this event is presented in partnership with the Department of Visual Arts’ Art Now! Speakers’ Series with support from the Faculty of Arts & Humanities at Western University.

Curatorial Talk and Tour
Saturday, March 21, 1pm – 2pm

Join curator Helen Gregory for a tour of Atmospheric Shifts and *(s)twerH, as she discusses this unique pair of exhibitions that bring the arts into conversation with cutting edge environmental research.

Learn more about upcoming programming

McIntosh Gallery
1151 Richmond Street
London, ON N6A 3K7
mcintoshgallery.ca
mcintoshgallery@uwo.ca
(519) 661-3181

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Our Hours
Monday to Friday: 10am – 5pm
Saturday: 12pm – 4pm
Sundays and Holidays: Closed
McIntosh Gallery offers free admission to all exhibitions and events

Accessibility
We regret that McIntosh Gallery is not wheelchair accessible.