THE POWER OF PLACE

I often define myself as a landscape-based artist whose roots are deeply buried in Saskatchewan soil. I have returned to this theme many times, always exploring and deepening my connection to the land I call home. Sometimes I've focused on the vastness and expansiveness of the prairie panorama, other times on the complexity and subtlety of the grasses and other flora. Whatever the focus, this land has continued to challenge and inspire me. Currently, I am in the midst of what I consider to be a trilogy - three bodies of separate but related work based on the prairies. The first series addressed the demise of the grain elevator, a dominant visual presence on the prairie landscape. The second series, the one I'm currently working on, looks at the altered landscape, our agricultural imprint on the land. The third body of work will focus on the native prairie and the interrelatedness and diversity of all it comprises.

IN MEMORIAM: The Demise of the Prairie Grain Elevator

Between Oct. 17th & 21st, 2002, the two grain elevators in Disley, Saskatchewan were demolished - visually and economically diminishing our small community of 50 people. I had no specific attachment to those elevators. In the 25 years that I had lived there I had never once been in them. Despite that, during the week of their dismantling I became increasingly distressed. It was only in their absence that I began to understand their deeper significance.

Grain elevators are potent and prominent icons of the Canadian prairies. On many levels, elevators mark "our place" in the vastness of the prairie landscape. Many have already "disappeared" with the emergence of the more efficient corporate farming practices which demand large-scale storage and transportation systems. With their disappearance, we have lost both our "sense of place" and our sense of self-definition as a prairie people with rural roots. I eventually came to realize that we, as "prairie people" needed a way to honour our history. I created these works to act as a memorial service for a way of life that no longer exists.

In 2005, as part of the Saskatchewan Centennial Celebrations, the Organization of Saskatchewan Arts Councils (OSAC) organized an exhibition titled "THE SURVIVORS", depicting elevators that remain. They no longer display the proud signage of independent grain companies. Many of the logos have been painted over, leaving only faint indications that they were once there. Others display new logos with names of farming cooperatives or processing companies, reflecting the fact that the wooden structures now have new purposes. Through the cooperative efforts, ingenuity and entrepreneurial visions of farmers, businesses and communities, these elevators have been renovated and reconfigured to address the changing farming economy. They have taken on different functions within their communities. So, too, must we redefine our "sense of place" and our self-definitions in response to our changing society.

THE TURNED LAND: The Agricultural Imprint on the Prairies

I have started this body of work with a series of field images mostly after the grains have been harvested, when we are left with only the stubble and the straw bales.

This is a region drastically altered by the arrival of our European ancestors and much damaged through current agricultural practices and an economy that gives farmers few alternatives. Despite the changes we face, we have retained an agricultural, rural focus in this province. This often means that we "see" the land on which we all depend mostly as a commodity. We talk about the cultivated fields in terms of yield and bushels/acre in the same way as the forestry industry sees mountain slopes in terms of board feet.

There is a certain kind of beauty in these fields and I have tried to show that beauty. It is my deep belief that if we can see the beauty and learn to love the land, rather than simply use it, we will work to actively heal it.

This applies to all of us - we are all nourished by the products generated in these fields. We are all responsible. We are all caretakers.

THE POWER OF PLACE

David Suzuki once said that the popular slogan "Think globally, act locally" often leaves us overwhelmed. Instead, we should "Think locally, act locally". If we did this, it would change the world.

As an "art maker", I believe that art and visual images carry in them the power to generate change if they are created with honouring and respectful intention. Therefore, I try to create images that are beautiful, reflective of my values, and accessible both visually and intellectually. I hope to show aspects of the prairies that are both new and familiar to my viewers. I want them to experience the broad, expansive "power of place" that is so characteristic of the prairies as well as the small, fragile and vulnerable within the wide sweep of this landscape.