Early 21st Century Tsunamis
In 2018 I was invited to join a group of artists to create an exhibition of dioramas around the theme of space. It was very important to me that I have a strong idea that would have meaning for the viewer before I began creating. The group disbanded prior to any exhibition and I continued my work. I spent a lot of time thinking about what takes up space and was pretty scared that I wouldn't have anything meaningful to say. My daughter was living in Paris, France at the time and the Gilet Jaune were becoming increasingly larger in their demonstrations. I thought about how they were like a wave or a tsunami overtaking the streets of Paris. I was researching dioramas and came across a kit for Hokusai's Great Wave, later I saw a puzzle with the same image and took that as confirmation to pursue my tsunami idea.
I ended up making ten sculptures in this series:
#Gilet Jaune, 2019 - a tidal wave of people in yellow vests about the movement in Paris (something that does not resonate in the same way in Canada as it would in France)
This sculpture is made up of many (many) individually made wire figures that have been dipped in Dip-it Fantasy Film and fitted with a vest made out of yellow duct tape.
Red, White, & Blue, 2019 - a red tie extends from a model of the White House that is backed by a tower from the Kremlin. The tie is covered with blue Twitter birds. Canada has been inundated with information about Donald Trump, his tweets, and his ties to Russia.
Creative Steps:
Twitter birds cut out with a Silhouette Curio Machine
Piecing and gluing the birds together for a more three-dimensional look.
Building the White House
Adding in a tower from the Kremlin
First attempt at gold leaf
I didn’t like the first onion top so I made another one out of polymer clay. It’s not as even as it could have been, but still a vast improvement on the first one.
Canadian Whitecap, 2019 - a small wave representing the Yellow Vest movement in Canada (which at its heart is about white supremacy and western separation). I purposefully made this into a whitecap and not a tsunami because I did not want to give the movement the significance of a tsunami - I am thankful that the yellow vest movement didn't really catch on in Canada.
3 Mexican Countries and a Border Wall, 2019 - a wave of people make their way over a wall. The wall is based on photos of the actual wall the Donald Trump government installed along the U.S/Mexican border. At one point during the height of the massive waves of refugees trekking to the U.S. a television headline began with the words "Three Mexican Countries" . I thought it was a telling example of how little the xenophobes of America know about who is on the move and why. The wave extends over the wall as I do not think any wall will stop the extraordinary movement of refugees.
Creative steps:
Making wire guys.
Joining the wire figures together.
Putting down the base coat and adding in some ground.
Wall making supplies.
Hammer finish spray painted wall.
The wave of people grows.
Need more wire guys!
“Rust” paint pallet and tin of DIP-IT Fantasy Film in the background.
Putting up the first section of the wall.
Second attempt at wall installation (I added more scenic cement after the first attempt and the water in the spray un-dried the glue).
The wall is complete.
Wire figures installed.
The Great Pacific, 2019 - a wave made of plastic and resin to comment on the massive amounts of plastic and garbage in the oceans.
Creative steps:
Base coat.
Preparing for the resin.
Waiting for the resin to dry.
A piece of tuck tape got caught in the sculpture…I sanded it out and fixed that spot with fresh resin.
Landfull, 2019 - a land wave filled with household garbage looming over a cityscape that is loosely based on my home city; this piece reflects on the increasingly shorter life span of my city's current landfill and the need to decrease and divert waste.
Creative steps:
Forming the wave with landscape cloth.
Covering the wave with plaster.
Adding in earth and grass.
Foamcore City!
City sprayed with Chrome spray paint (that ate into the foam core…I kind of like the effect though.
First city was say too small. Mapping out a bigger city based on downtown Saskatoon.
Foamcore and mat board buildings.
Black base coat.
City sprayed with chrome paint.
Weighing the city down with heavy washers while the glue dries.
I had planned on making a final 7th piece about wild fires called "Wyld" in 2019 but ran out of time and left work on this series. COVID-19 became a reality in Canada in March of 2020 and I found myself creating Rough Waters. I did not know when I started this project just how many tsunamis there would be happening in the world begging to be commented on.
Rough Waters, 2020 - COVID waves that begin as a red virus and mutate into a purple virus to reflect the changing nature of COVID-19. A figure is seen with a stack of toilet paper near the front of the piece, figures hold screens, and inevitably figures wear masks and some are seen dead amongst the virus as the waves progress. These were my impressions of COVID-19 in the spring of 2020 and its impact on my community at the time.
Creative steps:
Victorious toilet paper hoarder.
Building the waters…people on screens…
COVID, 2020 - a wave of COVID viruses on a round base painted to represent the world. The black pieces represent the death the virus sometimes brings.
Creative Steps:
Legions of COVID viruses.
Forming the wave.
#BLM, 2020 - a collection of masked figures forming the symbolic fist from the Black Lives Matter movement. Several figures at the front of the sculpture take a knee out of respect for the movement.
Creative steps:
At the start.
A bin of wire figures getting masked.
Wyld/Rage - a wave of a smoke explosion that lights up inside. This is the completion of the unfinished piece that was started in 2019. It represents the wildfires that are once again overtaking parts of the world along with the rage that is being expressed in the streets.
Fifth attempt at creating the smoke base…
There are so many significant phenomena happening in the world today that this series could continue. At this time I am not planning on creating any more tsunami sculptures and am considering an addendum piece called "Waves of Hope" (although I'm not quite sure what that would look like).
