The Centrepointe Theatre Gallery in Ben Franklin Place in Ottawa was the location of a fascinating exhibit of photomontages by visual and media artist Sandra Hawkins during the month of September.
In “Arctic Crisis Project: Parts I and II” Hawkins has created a series of 30 photomontage images. They combined elements taken from photography and journals she created in 1981while working in the central Arctic as a preventative health educator, with more recent photography of New York City.
“I recently digitally restored the colours of my old photographic prints, enhancing the natural delicate poetics of Arctic twilight during January ‘Dark Time’ and used them as a base for these photomontages,” explained Hawkins. The exhibit reflects the artist’s deep concern for ecological issues and obvious affection for the Arctic and its people.
Hawkins, who has degrees in fine arts as well as environmental studies and sociology, sees a direct connection between the melting Arctic ice and the vulnerability of large cities close to sea level, such as New York, to flooding. She says that since she began the creation of the exhibit two years ago, there has been an increasing amount of solid scientific evidence that confirms global warming is occurring.
Duality was a theme of the exhibit; pieces from the two distinct parts were displayed in two physical spaces—the main level and the balcony level of the theatre. There were two major elemnts in each of the photomontages, which were archival quality prints on fine art paper. Large and small communities, traditional lifestyles and contemporary elements, and public spaces and private commentary were contrasted.
In Part I, Arctic scenes from the late 20th century were juxtaposed with scenes from 21st century New York City. In Part II, similar Arctic scenes were layered with handwritten notes from the artist’s travel journal.
The photomontages in Part I were very striking. For example, Number 7, Children and the NASDAQ, superimposed a shot of four Inuit youths dressed in parkas and wearing skates with an electronic billboard for the most influential American stock exchange and city dwellers rushing to and fro.
These transparent layered images drew you in and challenged you to see where these tiny Arctic communities intersect with one of the most powerful large cities in the world. While the New York scenes included commercial symbols such as skyscrapers and Yahoo signs, cultural venues like theatres and galleries were also included.
The handwriting in the Part II pieces added interest to these beautiful images, which were taken in five small Arctic communities. But the handwriting did not reveal too much, as no full sentences were visible. The words and phrases from the artist’s travel journal were imprinted on the photomontages like memories filtered through time and space.
Number 21, Spence Church and Journals was a charming example of these pieces and a beautiful study in grey, white and silver. I particularly liked the photographs of people, such as Number 23 which depicts a Pelly Bay woman wearing an amouti, a traditional Inuit parka designed to carry a child.
A glass case displaying the parka and kamiks (traditional boots) Hawkins wore when she lived in the Arctic, an album of the original photographs, as well as her handwritten travel journal added authenticity and a personal touch.
This exhibit appealled to people who have an interest in the Arctic and ecological concerns or those who simply enjoy compelling and thought-provoking imagery created with new technologies.
“Arctic Crisis Project: Parts I and II” continued at the Centrepointe Theatre Gallery until September 30 and will be displayed at the Rail’s End Gallery at 23 York Street in Haliburton on Saturday, Oct. 3 through November 16. In this venue, the photomontages from “Arctic Crisis Project: Parts I and II” will be part of a larger exhibit entitled “The Ecology of Narrative Space.”
Hawkins will also create a video projection installation titled Water Leak. “A video of rushing and reversing melted glacier water will be projected downward from the ceiling onto the bed of the former railway station's baggage scale that remains fixed in the centre of the gallery, “ said Hawkins. “Water Leak is metaphoric for that which can not be contained, that which finds its way through unintentional cracks, water being our source.”
A reception will be held from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and an artist talk will take place at 3 p.m.
For more information about “The Ecology of Narrative Space” you can visit the website at http://www.railsendgallery.com/exhibitions.php.
Joyce MacPhee is an Ottawa writer and editor.
