Three experiences of the north, real or perceived, that bring us face to face with the realities of a little-known region undergoing accelerated transformation. The north is at once home to a sparse population, an ecosystem vital to the entire continent, and a vast resource base that is in the sights of developers as ever before.
THOMAS KNEUBÜHLER
Under Currents
This work looks at the hydroelectric installations in northern Quebec and at their impact on the people and the land. Under Currents lays on a diagrammatic map of rivers that flow from east to west and electric lines that go, via power and converter stations, from north to Boston. In this vast region, Crees who use to be nomadic are now displaced and settled in territorial subdivisions, and it is the workers from the South who are now nomadic and housed in temporary work camps.
with an essay by Pierre Dessureault
ANDREAS RUTKAUSKAS
Virtually There
Andreas Rutkauskas explores the impact of technology and online research on wilderness recreation and exploration. After examining his- torical photographs of the rockies, topographic maps, and images and GPS tracks on Web sites, he composed views of the mountains using google earth. on site, he then re-enacted these simulated explorations and created photographs from the same vantage points using a large- format camera. The rockies around banff are not located very far north, but they are sufficiently remote to highlight the differences between what we can imagine of a place and its true physicality.
with an essay by Geneviève Chevalier
EAMON MAC MAHON
Landlocked
Eamon Mac Mahon grew up at the edge of the boreal forest, in a town called grande Cache, Alberta. it was there that he developed a curiosity for places up north where people were living in the wilderness in towns without roads to them. in 2004 and during the five following years, he had the opportunity to spend time in some of those communities of northwestern Canada and Alaska, and to travel with a bush pilot. he discovered a landscape marked by contradictory traces and forces that are at the core of its sublimity.
with an essay by Isa Tousignant