Montana Suite pt. II (2017)

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ephemera, lamp, alarm clock, wall-mounted side table 

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In 2016, the American poet Jim Harrison passed away in front of his writing desk at his winter home in Patagonia, Arizona. For decades, he had spent summers writing collections of fiction, poetry, and essays in a studio just south of Livingston, Montana. I drove down to Livingston and spent five days roaming through the writer's favourite countryside. This side table mounted to the wall contains all of the ephemera I collected over those five days. It's the second of four parts that comprise Montana Suite. 

Stuffed Ticks (2018)

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scraps of fabric, stuffing

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One of the great Global Warming success stories in North America is the proliferation and migration of ticks. As ticks are introduced to new parts of Canada, they will enter into regional ecological conversations because of the potential health risks they bring to humans and wildlife. 

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Stuffed Ticks are a propositional tool used to condition children to recognize these unsettling parasites at an early age. They were designed to represent Deer Ticks, known carriers of Lyme Disease-causing bacteria. 

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Thanks to Grace Wirzba

Floor Maps (2018)

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inkjet print, iPhone image

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An photo of mountains taken with an iPhone from a plane window has been printed and folded into the shape of a road map. 

First and Last Plein Air Painting #4 (2017)

 

frame, paint, insects

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A gessoed panel was taken to a scenic hill on the south shore of Harp Lake. This site would be an ideal location for plein air painting if it didn't happen to be late May, the peak of black fly season. 

Beyond the Bush Garden (2016), with Samuel de Lange

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projectors, projector cart, anthotypes, assemblage, vinyl mural

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A two-person exhibition based on five days spent in clearcuts near Shining Tree, ON. The work, comprised of images, objects, and video, aims to critique tropes of landscape art with a humorous and self-aware approach to representation. 

Anthotypes I-V (2016), with Samuel de Lange

 

wild blueberries, bear scat, vodka

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Using the anthotype process invented by Sir John Herschel in 1842, all of the materials for these images were sourced from within about a kilometre of Shining Tree, ON. The final result of this experiment fortuitously ended up resembling both cloudscapes and geographical maps. 

Resting Places (2016)

 

142 page photo book, 130 images. 

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This book work is the record of a canoe trip that took place between Canoe Lake in Algonquin Park, and the McMichael gallery in Kleinburg (Vaughan, ON). The 340km route was completed in 14 days and connected the original grave site of Tom Thomson to the Group of Seven cemetery. 

Optimal Vantage Point Platform (2016)

 

wood, stain, hardware, 3'30" slideshow

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Scenic lookouts are strategically located along roadways as a safe way to control traffic and guide sight-seers to landscapes considered sublime and beautiful. The OVP Platform is a response to this prescriptive and authoritative method of outdoor aesthetic appreciation. 

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The OVP Platform improves any view by 14 inches and can be folded up and transported in almost any truck or mid-sized SUV. 

Investigate & Disseminate

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vinyl, 32" monitor, briefcase cameras, photos

Thanks to Foris Signs Inc. 

Matchbox multiple (2013)

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match, matchbox, instructions

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With this self-destructive multiple, buyers are given the choice of performing the instructions, thereby destroying the ephemeral work, or keeping it intact as a memento; its existence and purpose teeters on the edge of fulfilling an action and becoming an archived object. 

10,000 Questions (2018)

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35mm, archival print, 30" x 40"

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Photographic allusion to the work of Dennis Oppenheim. An attempt to borrow past conceptual strategies as a way to address contemporary topics.