The Conversation (Between Humanity and the Ocean)
Commissioned by the Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition, Ottawa Canada
Themes: Ocean . Sustainability . Creation Care . Dialogue
Themes: Ocean . Sustainability . Creation Care . Dialogue
3 distinct canvases (acrylic, collaged papers, permanent marker on unstretched canvas, 8’x22’)
If we were to speak the same language, what would we say?
I never considered Canada to be an ocean-faring nation, and yet here we are – more coastline than any other country in the world. When I was commissioned to do this piece, the emphasis was on literacy. Five artists from five regions of Canada were to use art as a means to take the pulse on ocean literacy. My region was the landlocked interior; I think Rockies, wheat fields and cattle - not oceans. For this reason, the large humpback whale was intentional, a quickly accessible visual. Like many of my pieces these days, my intent was to invite conversation and have people write on the painting. It so happened that as I set to take this piece on the road to gather words from fellow interior Canadians, coronavirus hit and everything was cancelled. I managed to meet up with a few individuals before major shutdowns, but most of the words and phrases were gleaned from people who responded to my call through social media platforms. The response was overwhelming and unexpected: provocative, funny, poignant, lyrical, silly, challenging.
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What was accomplished?
There were conversations. Memories were evoked and stories were shared, some of which I was privileged to hear. But more importantly, I participated in the asking of searching questions. What actually was written on these canvases was a fraction of what was spoken. How does one measure that? One individual shared that she and her friends had an animated discussion ranging from plastics to politics, mixed with memories of clam digs and surfing. It became too much to summarize; she simply wrote, “Thank-you”. And quiet gazes. Individuals stood in front of the whale long moments and spoke no words at all. “Why does this make me want to cry…?” one person asked. Another stood in front of the hands and wondered at the clamorous nature of them. "I hadn’t intended them to be that way," I replied. "We’re takers," he said. "we must change."
As for the artist? I spent days, weeks, in the solitude of my studio painting a great whale I knew nothing about. As the whale took form, the two of us began a dialogue, spaced out between stretches of silence as we observed one another, curious, thinking about the other’s world. Neither of us was the same after this encounter, of that I am certain.
As for the artist? I spent days, weeks, in the solitude of my studio painting a great whale I knew nothing about. As the whale took form, the two of us began a dialogue, spaced out between stretches of silence as we observed one another, curious, thinking about the other’s world. Neither of us was the same after this encounter, of that I am certain.
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