Kelly Wood

Kelly Wood is an Associate Professor in the Department of Visual Arts at Western University, specializing in Visual Arts Studio with a focus on Contemporary Art and Photography. She is a practicing artist whose photographic works on waste and pollution are held in major national and international museum collections, with significant contributions to environmental art discourse.

Her academic background includes:

• Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.), University of British Columbia, 1996
• Diploma, Emily Carr University, 1988

Wood's research critically examines waste accumulation, waste economies, and visible/invisible pollution as visual problems. For decades, she has documented garbage forms through photography, exploring environmental impact through artistic practice. Her scholarship extends to international publications like History of Photography, positioning her work at the intersection of environmental art, contemporary photography, and cultural studies of pollution.

Her publication trajectory since 1998 reveals sustained investigation into waste as cultural/environmental phenomena. Monographs like "The Vancouver Carts" (2016) and exhibition catalogs such as "The Continuous Garbage Project" (2003) demonstrate cohesive long-term projects engaging urban contexts—particularly Vancouver—with global resonance. Recurring themes include garbage aesthetics, waste management politics, and art's role in environmental discourse, consistently bridging artistic practice and ecological critique.

Professor Wood provides graduate supervision within Visual Arts, though specific advisees aren't listed. Her involvement with The Synthetic Collective indicates active research collaboration, while absence of grant details in available documentation suggests focus on studio-based artistic research rather than traditional grant-funded scholarship.

As a member of The Synthetic Collective, she collaborates across art-science disciplines to explore synthetic environments and waste. Her studio practice integrates photography and printmaking facilities, serving both artistic production and pedagogical experimentation within Western University's visual arts infrastructure.