The Canadian Shield is composed of large areas of exposed Precambrian igneous and metamorphic rock scraped clean by the Wisconsin glaciation and retreat. Glacial erratics from the recession of Laurentide Ice sheet are strewn across the landscape, a tangible remnant of the geologic memory and time within the landscape. The Shield contains some of the oldest rocks on earth and the boreal forest of northern Canada is the largest intact forest left in the world.

My most recent work looks at endemic, vulnerable species found in alpine and boreal environments and is realized through performance in the landscape utilizing wearable photographic camouflage. The images of plants, mosses, lichens and fossilized creatures used to create the camouflage are more than human entities that exist on a longer scale of time in relation to human experience. By donning a photographic material that replicates these species, rocks and fossils, I am gesturing towards an altered state as means to meet the ecosystem on its own terms.

The conversation builds on my current practice of creating site-specific camouflage, by interviewing a glacial erratic while disguised as a boulder in the landscape. Prior to the interview, I consulted with local geology and ecology experts to determine the relative age of the rock, it’s trajectory through history, and how it incorporates into the surrounding environment. I created camouflage coat that utilizes images of the rock and its lichen to disguise myself in the landscape adjacent to the rock for the interview. The questions were both open ended and descriptive, inviting reflections on deep time, decay and memory.