ARTIST STATEMENT

"It is inconceivable to me that an ethical relation to the land can exist without love, respect, and admiration for land, and a high regard for its value. By value I of course mean something far broader than mere economic value in the philosophical sense."

- Aldo Leopold


I reach out my hand and extinguish the buzzing of the alarm; however the red light continues signaling that it is 5:30 am. Groaning, I know I cannot procrastinate, as there is no way of avoiding the inevitable. The longer I wait, the traffic will only get worse. Dragging myself out of bed I put on my clothes, walk out the front door of my house and get in my car. I turn over the ignition and the radio begins to speak to me, “1130 am on the one”, it is 5:51 am. I listen intently to the traffic report and strategies my route into the city. Should I take the Port Mann or the tunnel, which route is still open? I feel a sense of urgency, as I know I need to leave now before the accidents start to hinder the traffic flow. The rain pours down over the windshield; I adjust the windshield wipers, turn on the lights and slowly reverse out of the driveway, while wiping the sleep from my eyes. I am tired but I don’t dare to drink a coffee before I get to my destination because I don’t know how long I’ll be stuck in traffic, unable to urinate.

On my way to the highway, I drive along country roads where massive amounts of development are taking place. I see forests and rural land being demolished at an accelerated rate. I see perfect homogenous houses being efficiently built in the place of the rich diverse forests that were there, only the day before. I feel helpless and overwhelmed with what I see, sometimes I cry because inside of me I feel as devastated as the landscape before me.

I live in a world of shopping centers, drive through restaurants, strip malls, and houses with faceless occupants. I only recognize their cars, vans, and SUV’s as we drive along continuous bands of six lane highways, all along with thousands of other commuters. I have come to the realization: this is my community.

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