Grit City

Digital Collage

The reference to “urban forest” in the title for this body of work is somewhat ironic, as the municipal foresters report that Hamilton has far less forest canopy than most cities its size in North America. The pre-existing forest, moreover, is Carolinian forest – one of the rarest types of forest in the world. The area has been home to Indigenous peoples for countless thousands of years and their ancestral forest husbandry has likely changed the species composition of the area due to selective planting and use of fire. The ecological history of this heavily industrialized city, adjacent to a world biosphere reserve, adds immeasurably to its richness and vitality. 

Photocollage gives me a opportunity to approximate the kaleidoscopic sensation of participating in a busy, diverse urban environment. These works explore the dissonant clashing of natural and human-constructed landscapes as myriad lifeforms claw out a livelihood on what are frequently marginalized resources. Time is measured in the arc of shadows across a surface, the rings within a massive tree, and the progression of public policy objectives.