we cannot fathom the depths of our shadows
we cannot fathom the depths of our shadows was a performance/installation developed for Eastern Edge Gallery's HOLD FAST Festival of Contemporary Art 2018.
The artist would like to thank Calgary Arts Development and Alberta College of Art+Design for their generous support of this work. Scroll down to read more. Performance photos by Dan Smith.
we cannot fathom the depths of our shadows invited audiences to participate in one-on-one pendulum dowsing readings with the artist. Participants asked yes/no questions that were important to them.
Drill cutting samples from J-49, one of the first three wells drilled in the White Rose offshore oil field 250 km off the coast of Newfoundland (now abandoned), were placed inside test tubes filled with ocean water. These test tubes were placed inside the pendulum to assist with the readings. At the end of each reading, the participant received a test tube from the pendulum and a card with a drawing of the White Rose constellation. They were asked, in exchange for the reading, to release the drill cutting sample into the ocean, so that it might find its way back to the site where it came from. A symbolic gesture towards remediation, albeit a futile one, that asks us to consider forgotten sites of resource extraction and how our fates are entwined with that of the planet.
Read a review here: http://canadianart.ca/reviews/hold-fast-contemporary-arts-festival/