This land has been scared. It has been bleached and battered and used and extracted from. It has changed hands more than a few times and found some hands more tender than others. There are scars on this land, ones left by a tiller, ones burned into the ground, scars from wars won long ago and from battles still being fought today. This land has taken life away just as easily as it provides life for many.
This land was changing long before my grandfather ever took his first steps on its ground and it will continue to change long after my grandchildren leave this earth.
Clay in the Soil is the start of what I hope to be a lifelong dialogue with a piece of land in Forest, ON that I know as well as family. This is the unpacking of my personal and familial history with this land and the messy journey I am on, to understand the drastic changes it has undergone.
This work has been conceived and worked through on the traditional lands of the Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation and the Mississauga's of the Credit First Nation. I am thankful to these Nations for nurturing and continuously protecting the lands that I call my home.
20% of all artwork sales from this show will go to the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources, a First Nation directed environmental non-profit charitable organization established in 1995 - CIER's mission is to work in partnership with Indigenous nations to support and build sustainable Indigenous communities and protect lands and waters.
A Somewhere for the Water,36”x30”, Oil paint and soil on canvas
Clay in the Soil, 30”x24”, Oil paint and soil on canvas
Over By The Creek, 18”x36”, Oil paint and soil on canvas
Settle, 24”x30”, Oil paint on canvas
4 Seasons With No Direction, 20”x12”, Oil paint and oil pastel on panel (sold)
Leached #1, Soil pigment and linseed oil on canvas board (framed), 8”x8”
Leached #2, Soil pigment and linseed oil on canvas board (framed),8”x8”
Leached #3, Soil pigment and linseed oil on canvas board (framed), 8”x8”
Clay in the Soil, Installation