The Fitzroy St. Tiny Art Gallery presents Second Place: Below the Wire, new work by Jessica Sheppard. The gallery is located at Fitzroy and Felling Streets in Charlottetown and exhibitions are on view 24 hours a day. 

 Along PEI’s country roads, especially since post-tropical storm Fiona, trees “topped” beneath power lines have become a familiar but overlooked sight. This work reverses that relationship: human figures are topped instead, missing their heads and shoulders, while the tree grows tall and unrestricted. 

The piece reflects on how nature is so often asked to bend to human systems and imagines what it might feel like if that sacrifice were reversed. 

The materials reinforce this idea: the figures are made using Tetra Pak printmaking, and the tree from reclaimed and upcycled materials, honouring what already exists rather than consuming more. 

Ultimately, this piece is an invitation for the viewer to look anew at their landscape and examine the quiet compromises they have made that continue to shape both their environment and themselves.