|
|
"This exhibit is as eclectic as the people who made up rural society, pushing me outside my traditional practice."
The theme of this exhibit is the Family Farm, its beginnings and its evolution.
Over one hundred years ago, my paternal and maternal grandparents homesteaded on the Saskatchewan prairies. They and countless neighbors broke the land, lived in sod shacks, raised families, and lived through droughts, insect infestations and the Depression in order to build a better life for their children. The land was their lifeblood and connected them to their food, income, friends and neighbors. The land sustained them for better or for worse.
The church was vital, bringing people together in community for celebration and support.
As the years passed, family farms dwindled; people chose to live in towns, closer to schools and other amenities. The small light family farm could support only one or two sons, and other children had to buy their own land or seek other occupations. Fewer and fewer people were left to farm, to provide an agricultural base for the country. Family farms were sold to large landowners who farmed several old homesteads. In turn, many of these farmers will retire, selling their property to even larger enterprises that will continue to work the land and provide us with an agricultural base.
The old homesteads are often just memories of an earlier time, but some are still standing. The shells are crumbling and it won't be long before they have to be demolished, as they will be a hazard to those who happen by them.
During return visits to my family's farm I have collected old receipts, fragments of the homestead (pieces of linoleum, doors, moldings, shingles), and photographs in an attempt to tell the story of the ever-changing landscape and social fabric of the prairies.
One year, a window had broken, allowing a bird to build it's nest on top of the curtains. The next year, the nest had fallen to the floor and all that was left of the nesting place was some missing wall paint and bird droppings. Two homes in one had been abandoned and the nest became my metaphor.
This exhibit is as eclectic as the people who made up rural society, pushing me outside my traditional practice.
Paintings, collage (using the old documents to symbolize all that is left of the family farm), Polaroid transfers of old and new photographs, and installations using pieces of the old house make up the body of work for Farm Fragments.