Over Time, The Weather Project

Curator: Lisa Hirmer
Type: Group residency and online show
Genre: Interactive online art
Location: Whitehorse, YT + online
Year: 2023

Over Time, interactive web project

Digital Artists Projects, The Weather Collection with Lisa Hirmer.

Made with Hatch, Instagram.

Weather Collection is deliberately eclectic. Recognizing that existing approaches are not working to address the climate crisis, the series consists of novel combinations in order to spark strategies that encourage people to find possibility and ways to work together to change the future. The in-person and digital exhibitions include a mix of new work by contemporary artists and works from the extensive collections of the partner galleries selected for the stories they can tell about human relationships with weather. Each gallery has selected an emerging artist to be mentored within the project and produce new artworks that will be featured on the project’s website. The online storytelling events, titled Weather Stories, is organized by Lisa Hirmer and will bring together scientists, Indigenous Elders, artists, poets, gardeners, and activists from diverse backgrounds to tell tales about their experiences of weather.

Weather Collection is a cross-Canada partnership between the University of Lethbridge Art Gallery, Lethbridge; Mount Saint Vincent University Art Gallery, Halifax; the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton; the Agnes Etherington Arts Centre, Queens University, Kingston; and the Yukon Arts Centre, Whitehorse. The project is primarily funded by a Digital Now grant from the Canada Council for the Arts.

My time during digital mentorship with the Weather Collection allowed me to explore the connection between ancestry, personal practice, and our roles as land caretakers. The Weather Collection series, which emerged from a long-term research partnership between artist Lisa Hirmer and uLethbridge Art Gallery, aimed to create a sense of possibility in response to the climate crisis.

Throughout the mentorship in the spring and summer of 2023, I was able to stay curious and open to the guidance of the land. I engaged with my fellow artists in the mentorship, led by Lisa, who coordinated online talks with Smudge Studio and Jimmy Elwood. Through this process and personal meditations, I discovered my concept of quiet memories or blood/memories, which refers to memories passed down from one generation to the next, a term coined by Kiowa author N. Scott Momaday.

During the mentorship, I revealed my private practice of bending trees. From this Lisa introduced me to Trail Markers. For me, the sculpted trees marked trails I had used over decades and held special meanings. Though I had always kept this practice private, I felt compelled to investigate it further once I learned about trail markers.

I remember when I discovered that my drawing doodles resembled petroglyphs, and it was a significant time when I saw the petroglyphs in Alberta. I also remembered my natural impulse to put herbs like cloves and sweet grass into the Kokum Dolls I sew, which I now know is medicine. These experiences made me contemplate the idea of blood memories and how our survival depends on our collaboration with the planet and all her elements. These private practices reflect a lineage to my ancestors, an unspoken bond to rituals and traditions.

To reflect on my journey, I created this interactive digital story that captured the essence of how quiet memories surface when we wander. The ghost character in the story often represents myself in my work, and the background videos feature my most recent tree arch. The drawings reflect on nature and how nature and humans are interconnected and informed by each other.

This mentorship allowed me to give in to my impulses to investigate and listen closely to the guidance of the land. I thought about how the birds know where to fly and how the bear cubs follow their mother carefully. This internal compass ignites when we are quiet, listen, and compassionate, and we know how to care for the land. It reminds us to rebuild our bond with nature and unite as a community to restore nature's natural abundance. I realized the importance of rewilding over the careful rewiring from nature that we meticulously created as a society. When we are quiet, we are always guided and wise over time.

Overall, the mentorship has enriched my perspective on storytelling, blood/memories, and the significance of a sustainable future through collaborative action across species. Through slow, internal, creative investigation, I hope to continue exploring these themes and inspire others to connect with the land.

Over time,
on my special trails,
the trees move to mark the way

over time,
together,
we remind each other
where to go

Over time, with
certainty, we
move together

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