the beautiful

Although the invention and use of the photographic medium has been instrumental to environmental protection, it has simultaneously been detrimental in its promotion of destructive ideologies and desires. By looking at historical and cultural markers such as Manifest Destiny, Western genre films, the road trip, and contemporary social media culture, the beautiful uses the very medium it is critiquing to delve into the contested notion of “the West,” its intertwinement with colonial-capitalism, and how depictions of the landscape are constantly evolving and are especially prescient and problematic in this time of climate crisis. The work documents my experience traveling through the Western United States, free camping on public lands with my dog. Due to traveling with an animal, most areas in the National Parks (which are aimed to preserve nature, but have become sites often overrun by tourists and their selfie-sticks) were off limits. This obstacle enabled me to search for locales that were outside of the usual confines, allowing for a more solitary experience with nature, one which felt more “pure” and “untouched” (although it has been home to and shaped by Indigenous people far before the first settlers laid claim to it). the beautiful holds the heartbreak of bearing witness to both the beauty and the destruction of the natural world. The photographs and film offer a glimpse of my journey and the interspecies bond shared with my most beloved pup Clementine.

the beautiful is currently on view at Night Gallery as a solo exhibition in conjunction with PST Art: Art & Science Collide.

“the beautiful” was made with assistance from a Puffin Foundation Artist Grant and a Research Grant from the Canada Council for the Arts. Special thanks to Davida Nemeroff, Nicoletta Pollara and the team at Night Gallery for their supportive feedback, friendship and for giving me the opportunity to share this work; to Nik Massey for his wisdom on finding sleep spots and how to live feral; to Jennifer Boysen for providing a much needed respite from the solitude of life on the road; and to the many people I encountered on my travels (too many to name) for showing me generosity, kindness, humor, and for reminding me of the goodness in people and our commonalities despite our differing backgrounds or politics. Most of all, thank you to my darling Clementine without whom I could never have done this journey… I wish we could be on the open road together forever.