Canada 150. A partial story told for so many years. Built on stollen lands we pretend the indigenous stewards don't matter. We cling to our own narratives trying to cobble together some sense and meaning. Haphazardly we box our stories together trying to make them fit. But the frailty cannot be ignored.
Each story trying to hold together something that can't quite be boxed. Each story a personal meaning, but nothing quite holds fast. Suspended stories made of loose ends and untruths. How can I personally fit into this until we finally see the whole story and acknowledge silenced voices?
This piece was created in response to a creative challenge asking what does Canada mean to me. I had just had the experience of exploring Canadian identity with my 4th year university students and was surprised to see how fixed and thin their conceptualization was. The students clung to notions of beer, multiculturalism, hockey, and politeness. When I tried to ask them to read between the lines a bit deeper each one became more entrenched in their narrative.
This piece aims to capture the haphazard stories and shapes of Canadian identity asking us to look deeper and read between the lines of the truths we have been sold.
- Found reeds, paper, wire-
