Saturday, March 25, 2017





                                             Wildeornes


Stream connecting Crane Lake with Susie('s) Lake
In 2016, I received a creation grant from Arts Nova Scotia/the Nova Scotia Department of Communities, Culture and Heritage.  Without this support, Wildeornes would not be possible.


Wildeornes is a series of paintings/audio recordings describing my personal reactions and interpretations of urban/suburban/wilderness groundscapes.  The earth beneath our feet is our most immediate physical connection to our environment.  It also reflects dramatic change in the debris field dependent on the degree of human interference.  The soundscape for each location was collected and will be manipulated to further interpret the individual sites.  

Wilderness can be defined in two opposing ways: a wasteland, or an unchecked profusion, luxuriance of life forms.  In the first case, wilderness is seen as a space devoid of purpose, awaiting development to give it usefulness.  In the second case, wilderness is seen as an area of value because of its lack of human interference.  Working with regional conservation experts, I would determine the nearest public access to (mostly) intact wilderness from the urban core.



Using GPS, I measured the distance from the City Centre, identified in this case by Halifax City Hall, to the closest wilderness area. I then chose 24 equally spaced locations along that line as the subjects for research. Assisted by Daniel O’Neill, sound recording and editing artist with the Centre for Art Tapes, I collected audio field recordings from these selected locations. Paired with the visuals, they present a more comprehensive understanding of the artwork and the environments that they represent.


Daniel O'Neill setting up near the steps of Halifax City Hall


Drawing: Steps of City Hall


Painting, Location 1, City Hall
Behind Bayers Road (Bowlarama)

Point #9  behind Bowlarama

Near point 19, Susie Lake.

Painting based on location 19

Point 23, Blue Mountain Birch Cove Lakes
Painting based on point 23


Douglas Smith and Lylia Mogosumova, intrepid my guides

End point, Location # 24, Three Finger Lake
End point, Location #24, Three Finger Lake
Painting based on Location #24