The View from the Edge of the World

August 18 - October 21, 2023 Reception October 5

For the past while Sue and I have been working on an installation for the Art Gallery of Regina as part of the show, “View from the Edge of the World”. With installation day finally here, I have been thinking about these words by Gus Speech. Former Administrator UN Development Program, Author, and Environmental Advisor.

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“I used to think the top environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and climate change. I thought that with 30 years of good science we could address these problems. I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed and apathy and to deal with these we need a spiritual and cultural transformation. And we scientists don’t know how to do that”

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I first heard this quote while listening to a talk by my friend, Dr. Shari Fox. For over 25 years, Shari, a geographer and research scientist, has been working with Inuit on environmental research, from community-led research and monitoring, to large-scale international Arctic collaborations.

One of her close colleagues is Robert Kautuk, a photographer from Kangiqtugaapik (Clyde River) Nunavut. Last year, when Shari won the TD Walter Bean Professorship in Environment, University of Waterloo, she shared the award with Robert who became the 2022 TD Walter Bean Artist. One of Robert’s award winning images is an aerial view of two walruses being cut up on the ice flow, the red blood of the animals contrasted against the white snow. See Robert's photo here.

Shari shared that she felt there was a need for more Indigenous artists and more links between art and science and research.

“Art can help us enhance science, do science, express science in so many ways - technical, scientifically but also creatively and with heart. Robert’s picture makes us wonder, it makes us feel and it can pull out emotions that can even be at conflict but when we feel, we act, so if scientists can work more with artists, maybe together we can help people understand, feel and act which is what we need right now. And through art, we teach, we change minds. Sheila Watt-Cloutier (Inuk activist and Nobel Peace Prize nominee) said Inuit blood is not about death. It is the confirmation of life. It’s a photo of celebration.”

Though we are not partnering with a scientist on our collaboration “Where will the frogs sing?”, we hope our art might, in some small way, cause others to consider their relationship with the land and specifically why small remnants of land matter.

For those of you close to Regina, Saskatchewan we invite you to stop by the AGR and hopefully attend the reception on October 5th. It would be great to see you. In the meantime, as a little tease of what we will be sharing, here are some photos of us installing.

Trying to get the wrinkles out…

Starting to get silly (and clumsy) as it gets late in the day.

Thank you to Tania Wolk for stopping by and making us laugh at the end of a long day. Also, thank you to Sandee Moore who is curating this show and SK Arts for their financial support.

Come join us at a real kitchen table :-)