Transformation and Memory
Endangered Spaces
ARTIST STATEMENTS
Doris Hutton Auxier
The protected area of the Langley Bog has been the subject of my work since 2008. The wetlands evoke wildness, difference, fragility, and loss. I am drawn to the reclusive nature of plants that grow in somewhat obscure or endangered environments. My work is driven by the idea of the fragile specific that can easily become lost or overrun by the generic. The paintings and drawings are not done with scientific accuracy, but rather evoke the complexity of even the smallest piece of moss in a poetic way.
Adding Colony Farm as the second subject area of study led me to the rich history between Riverview Hospital and the farm. For this work, in addition to a painting based on the grass at Colony Farm, I added several mixed media pieces called Insertions and Intrusions. This work addresses the sometimes wonderful and sometimes uneasy social and political issues that surround the protected area of Colony Farm and the Langley Bog. In two of the framed drawings, the subject matter comes from the museum at Riverview Hospital. A psychiatrist's is combined with elements from Colony Farm to acknowledge the strong connection between these two areas, and to set up metaphors that speak to loss and vulnerability in a human life as well as in nature.
Throughout the process, I was constantly aware of the dignity and importance of the subject matter I was working with as well as the importance of the varieties of advocacy surrounding endangered spaces.
Suzanne Northcott
asylum. Sanctuary, refuge, shelter, from the Latin root asylon, “inviolable.”
As a child, I would make myself a nest in the middle of the long summer grass, my visual field simplified to gold grass and blue sky. I listened intently, encircled, hidden, safe, belonging to the natural world.
In the mysterious landscape of the Derby Bog, mounding sphagnum floats and matted grasses reflect in black water. Years ago the ancient beds of peat were mined requiring a network of sawdust roads through the bog. Through the changing lens of value, that commercial history now seems a violation of a rare and complex natural system and Metro Vancouver Parks protects the fragile and dangerous site.
Colony Farm in the summer is smothered with a thick covering of grass, taller than the birders, cyclists, gardeners, and photographers who find refuge there. Away from the paths near a darkly cloistered pond coyotes have flattened nests in the grass. The history of connection to Riverview Hospital, as rehabilitative workplace for patients who in turn raised food to feed the institution, is all but invisible. The hospital as a place of refuge teeters toward extinction, along with the artifacts and extraordinary histories inside.
From the web of connectness, what do we separate out to hold up as sacred, to be cherished, protected, remembered? What do we hide away, forget or keep apart as disturbing or frightening?
Jeff R. Warren
Several themes engaging the endangered spaces of the Langley Bog and Colony Farm are explored in this sound sculpture. One element common to both sites is water. They are located on the same river, and their ecosystems and histories are indebted to the water they share.
The sound of dripping water is an interesting one, as it can be interpreted in many ways. Drips can be relaxing and meditative (as in the Japanese water harp or suikinkutsu), drips can be annoying (as in leaky faucets), or drips can cause harm (as in water tortures). The same multiple meanings surround drones. Drones from traffic sounds, like those prominent in the soundscape of both locations, are often considered unwanted and annoying. Drones from a river or ocean waves, on the other hand, are often considered desirable and relaxing. Yet for some, the drones of traffic or a fan are necessary for sleep. Sounds find their meaning in context.
In this piece, water drips from the top of the suspending venting, striking objects along the way. At the bottom is a version of a suikinkutsu. The sounds of water drops are then amplified, evoking the interaction between the natural world and human intervention in these spaces. The suspended cylindrical venting mirrors the venting in the gallery, drawing the listener’s attention to the drone of the HVAC system and including it in the soundscape of the piece. The industrial element of the venting evokes memories of the industrial efforts of farming and mining in these spaces.
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