rewilding (2019), is presented with the intention of at first not appearing to be readable to emphasize the difficulty of translating between cultural identities. At first glance, the work might appear as an Indigenous formline design or as graffiti, or like it hasn’t been written in english. In making the work stubborn and difficult to grapple with, it is my hope that I’ve been able to prompt questions; why is this so difficult, where is my place in viewing this, should I laugh once I’ve deciphered the text?

vancouver is a city that prides itself in being “close to nature.” We are of course close to it: built on top of it, encased in the shores and with a good sightline to the mountain peaks. But this is not the nature that is implicated in the phrase “close to nature.” What this short text work looks at is the assumption that the places we are in are places that want us; and “place” not exclusively where the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh and their ancestors have lived for time immemorial, but considering the land too as itself holding its own spirit and will for or against those who occupy its borders.

this project was created in response to the city of vancouvers 2019 Indigenous Public Art Call
photos courtesy of SITE photography (Scott Massey)