Suspended pieces of glass art will be hanging from the windows and lobby of The ACT until Sept. 15.

Chilliwack artist Sylvie Roussel-Janssens has made the series of aquatically inspired works, and in the windows and lobby the natural light illuminates the opaque, two-dimensional suspended pieces, each a representation of a local lake.

"How Deep is your Lake is inspired by the beauty and fragility of our aquatic environment," Roussel-Janssens said.

"My sculptural installation art practice is concerned with history and the environment and, for this project I am looking at a total of six lakes in British Columbia.

My goal is to create large images that are abstract when seen from a distance but full of accurately detailed geographic references when viewed in close proximity."

In choosing lakes as her subject for this series, Roussel-Janssens charts and combines tangible landscapes with abstract, symmetrical imagery.

This presentation arises initially from her preoccupation with mapping local B.C. territory.

To begin her process, she photocopies enlarged bathymetric (depth) maps onto acetate, sews them onto polyester fabric, and then suspends each piece within large (approximately 80 inches by 60 inches) metal frames.

Roussel-Janssens is also attracted to the purely visual perspective offered by the enhanced map renderings on which her work is based, and she deliberately chooses bodies of water that lend themselves to the pleasing mirror-image symmetry that is featured throughout this series.

Those who frequent the Maple Ridge Art Gallery at The ACT may recall the stunning window pieces that Roussel-Janssens created when she participated in the Women Who Work with Metal exhibition that was featured at the gallery last October.

How Deep is Your Lake is presented on an extended basis, which will include the two-week art crawl being hosted by the Downtown Maple Ridge Business Improvement Association starts today (July 16) and runs until July 28.

The 'crawl' also includes the Lyle Wilson exhibition Paint for the final two weeks of a highly successful three-month run at the Maple Ridge Art Gallery.

More details: downtownmapleridge.ca.