Keely Hopkins is a settler artist based in Kjipuktuk in Mi’kma’ki (Halifax, Nova Scotia). Born in Sikóóhkotok (Lethbridge, Alberta) on Treaty 7 Territory, Hopkins graduated with a BFA in Photography and a minor in Art History in 2023. Prior to pursuing visual art at NSCAD University they completed a Bachelor of Science in Biology in 2019 at the University of Lethbridge. They were short listed for the NSCAD University Student Art Award in 2022 and 2023, and received Struts Gallery’s Media Arts Production Grant in 2024. Keely has also received funding from Arts Nova Scotia in support of their work with wetlands and grasslands.
Hopkins’ practice is interdisciplinary and is frequently based in photography, sculpture and video. Their work is deeply influenced by their upbringing as a settler on Treaty 7 Territory and their background in biology. Themes of survival, extraction, awe, and land are frequently explored in their practice that is grounded by research into historical and scientific contexts.
contact: keelylynn.hopkins@gmail.com
I am interested in scale, cycles, and reconfiguration. Land, body, and memory are vital subjects in my practice. Rather than attempt to offer conclusions or solutions, my work is a space for me to leave open ended questions and exercise curiosity.
I adamantly resist photography’s cult of perfectionism by transforming images through extraction, transfer, and distortion. My work treats the image as an object in space rather than a portal, and deconstructs the illusion of an invisible image maker.