WCA Solo Exhibition 'Red Road'

My aim in doing this solo exhibition was to raise awareness of the plight of the North American Natives as well as other indigenous peoples, addressing global issues and our fragile environment.
I intentionally made the video that went along with the artwork as a story to get my reasoning behind the other artwork in the exhibition clearer. I feel that its informative nature would educate people about the subject that is foreign to this country.

Ideas such as culture, indigenousness, nationality, race, class, and many more socially constructed representations of human beings that create differences between people, that is to say create ideas of ‘otherness’ among humanity, cause much of the conflict and suffering on the planet. These ideas divide human beings against each other and prevent us from achieving equality. We must abandon these ideas of differentiation among human beings and realise that we are all the same and need to help those in need who are the majority of people across the globe.

Heaven Night Club Solo Exhibition 'Red Road' 11.11.09

This is the first time that I have done something completely solo. It was a very different experience as I usually work collaboratively, which is within my comfort zone. This made the experience a lot more stressful but I feel it was very successful and many people have expressed their interest in my artwork.

La Alpujarra

La Alpujarra is a mountainous district in Southern Spain, which stretches south from the Sierra Nevada mountains near Granada in the region of Andalusia. The western part of the region lies in the province of Granada and the eastern part in the province of Almeria. It is bordered by the provinces of Albacete, Murcia, Almeria, Jaen, Cordoba, Malaga and the Mediterranean Sea. It’s capital is Granada. Because of a warm southerly climate combined with a reliable supply of water for irrigation from the rivers running off the Sierra Nevada, the valleys of the western Alpujarras are among the most fertile in Spain, though the steepness of the terrain means that they can only be cultivated in small fields, so that many modern agricultural techniques are impractical.

The region was the last refuge of the Moors who were allowed to remain there for nearly 150yrs after the fall of Granada in 1492. Following the Morisco Revolt of 1568, the Moorish population was forced from the region after the Moriscos used it as a military base. By order of the Spanish crown, two Morrish families were required to remain in each village in order to demonstrate to the new inhabitants, introduced from northern Spain, the workings of the terracing and irrigation systems on which the district’s agriculture depends.
This is similiar senario going on as the Peace River district another example of an area being devastated by corporate greed. The pictures below show all the greenhouses being built and the damn. What you can't see on the pictures is all the wind farms as I was to far away and they didn't show on pictures when I took them. The area that I have frequented for many years and hoped to retire to, is now rapidly losing its allure and becoming just another spanish holiday resort.

Changes

My contribution to this piece was very minimal as it was the full time MA VLP collaboration piece. I just came in at the end and helped set things up

Douglas showing us how its done.....lol

Williston Reservoir/Site C Proposal

Part of an article about Williston Reservoir/Site C Proposal
























A cabin on land adjacent to the yacht club. Just a few years ago, there was approximately 100 feet of land between the cabin and the shoreline.

Dust storms are also a problem. The 1st picture depicts a dust storm on the shores of Peace Reach.

Forty years after the construction of the Bennett Dam, heavy waves and wind are still causing erosion problems for some property owners on the Peace Reach.

Due to the rinsing and washing effect of the reservoir, land owners along Dunlevy Road have been watching their property “literally crumble into the lake” (“Erosion,” Alaska Highway News, March 2, 2009). Williston reservoir is nowhere near stabilizing under current conditions, and we might ask whether the rate of erosion is actually accelerating.

No one has suffered as much from dust storms as the Tsay Keh Dene people at the far north end of Finlay Reach. In a study conducted by Baker et al. (2000), eighty percent of the band members interviewed “indicated that the dust storms were responsible for adverse health effects (eye irritation, respiratory tract problems, and skin rashes) (p. 571).

Approaching Tsay Keh Dene Village at sunset in early June, I saw what looked like a thick bank of fog hanging above the community on an otherwise clear evening. Within the village, fine, silty particles of dust create a thick accumulation on window screens.

Granted, even without human interference, change and the need for adaptation are basic principles of nature. Few things in the natural world ever fit human notions of perfection. Yet we shouldn’t downplay the often troubling impact of massive industrial development.

Legitimate concerns about the recreational potential of a new dam go beyond erosion, landslides, and dust storms. The prospect of a Site C pondage area also raises serious questions about debris from tributaries, fog, rough water, elevated levels of methylmercury, and loss of critical animal habitat.

At the end of the day, a uniquely beautiful river valley would be permanently destroyed, and it’s impossible to “mitigate” that loss.

So the next time we hear about a nice lake that’s supposed to accompany Site C, critical reflection would be wise. Patrick McCully, author of Silenced Rivers, has observed that recreation is typically promoted as one of the “add-on benefits” of large hydro-electric projects, and that such benefits are often exaggerated in order to gain public acceptance (pp. 155-157).

The Effects of Hydro Development on Native Communities

The Tsay Keh Dene Native community of Northern BC. A video by Garret Seymour from Fort Ware about the effects on his people of the 1960s Hydro development of the WAC Bennett Dam and Williston Reservoir.

Williston Lake is the Largest Lake in British Columbia

The Williston Reservoir is located in north central British Columbia. The reservoir extends 200km north from Mackenzie along the Parsnip and Finlay Reaches of Williston Reservoir. These join to meet the Peace Reach which extends 100km east to WAC Bennett Dam near Hudson’s Hope.

Williston Lake is the largest reservoir in BC. It has a surface area of 1,773 square kilometers. The WAC Bennett Dam is the controlling structure for the Reservoir. The dam is 186 metres high and 2,068 metres long along its crest. The W.A.C. Bennett Dam and Generating Facilities (G.M. Shrum) were constructed between 1961 and 1968.

As the Peace River plunges from the Rocky Mountain Trench to the Mackenzie River system and the Arctic Ocean, it develops enormous energy. Together, the W.A.C. Bennett Dam and the G.M. Shrum Generating Station harness much of that energy. The dam and generating station form the largest hydroelectric facility in BC Hydro's system with the capacity to generate 2,730,000 kilowatts.

FACEBOOK DEBATE 'SITE C' PROJECT

Photo of the WAC Bennett Dam, 2nd photo before the dam was built.




This comment which was posted on facebook a couple of weeks ago,sparked off a heated debate after I commented in favour of the North American Natives.

So...having a background in electrical power generation I have somewhat of an insight into the different types of generation facilities. I am not 100% in favor of the proposed 'Site C' project. But my real beef is this, how can the First Nations Groups (Treaty 8)stand and be so vocal and opposed but at the same time be involved in 'negotiations' with BC Hydro? The answer is simple...Greed! Mother Earth comes second

The debate went along the lines of Natives get everything for nothing it's our land too, why don't we get the same basicly. Some comments where lets say not pleasant. But in light of this debate it's made me curious about the hydro vs native issues of BC.

First Nations People were never allowed to stand and ensure that their concerns, environmental or otherwise, were ever considered.
Negotiating with BC Hydro for a monetary gain is one thing...in today’s economic world it is good business, in every sense of the word. However, this is not some small development that will go un-noticed. The past / current practise of building Earthen Hydro-Electric dams incurs environmental damage that is on a scale of epic proportions. Look at the first dam built on the Peace River, WAC Bennett, this is not something that we can simply return to a natural state. It’s gone forever, well until the next ice age at least.
The Peace River dam was originally conceived half a century ago by the British Columbia Electric Company (now BC Hydro), under the direction of Dal Grauer. B.C. Electric obtained the necessary permits and land titles to proceed with the project, completed the design and made preparations for work to begin on site in 1963. However, the assets of that private electric utility company were expropriated by the Provincial Government just as construction of the Peace River hydroelectric dam was about to commence. Several of the top executives of the old firm left the new B.C. Hydro and construction proceeded under new management.
The finished project was brought online in the late 1960's and has provided British Columbia, and in particular the Lower Mainland and the City of Vancouver, with electricity ever since. The reservoir, once filled, flooded the Finlay and Peace River valleys and became the largest man-made lake on the planet. This flooding was not without consequence, however, to the people who had been living in those valleys.
At the time, the Peace River project was one of the largest developments of its kind in the world. It provided thousands of jobs during construction and facilitated rapid industrial growth throughout British Columbia over the next forty years. The flooding of the Finlay and Peace river valleys was a tragedy for the aboriginal inhabitants of the reservoir valleys.
The Tsay Keh Dene, formerly known as the Ingenika band, comprising some 125 families, were moved from their traditional village site, where they supported themselves by hunting and trapping, to what were supposed to be model reserves a couple of hundred kilometres south near the booming mill town of Mackenzie. The entire band received a total compensation of $35,000.
The move was a disaster for the Tsay Keh Dene, many of whom spoke no English. Over the next couple of years, they drifted away. Many came back to Ingenika Point, a low bluff overlooking the water that covered their traditional home. That was where they were living 20 years later, when they were rediscovered by government officials, living in conditions that Social Credit Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Stephen Rogers called "the most primitive I've ever seen." A great many of them wound up living on the streets of Prince George and Vancouver, and, of those, many did not live long. The Tsay Keh Dene received additional compensation from the Province in the autumn of 2006.
In October 2008, the Kwadacha First Nation reached a settlement with the BC government and BC Hydro over damages suffered during construction and operation of the dam and Williston Reservoir. The settlement includes a $15 million lump-sum payment and annual payments of $1.6 million adjusted for inflation.
The energy industry, regardless of its source, helps create and support, essentially, every other facet of our lives. There is a need for growth in the supply of electrical energy, to feed the demands that our ever multiplying population requires. We are a tender little species and our comfort zone must be maintained. But at what cost? When you consider the sources of the materials used and the environmental impact of the industries that develop and create the required equipment to harness and utilize energy, there really isn’t such a thing as clean energy.
Hey, on another tangent here, why not support the building of a huge multi Gigawatt Nuclear plant? PEACE RIVER NUCLEAR POWER, hey it’s got a ring to it and it would cost almost as much. Ok it might not last as long as Site C, but neither will I. Or how about a Natural Gas fired generating station, these are so small in comparison to both geographical size and environmental ‘footprint’. Yet, the power output of a large generating station could match that of the Site C project (~900MW).

Canada House Gallery, Nunavut – Our Land

1999 – 2009,An exhibition celebrating the 10th Anniversary of Canada's newest territory, Inuit Sculpture Contemporary Photography

The North is an essential part of Canada's identity and an area of growing importance internationally. Northerners, including the residents of Nunavut, have brought a number of emerging issues to the world's attention: the dangers and challenges posed by climate change; the need for sustainable economic development; and the importance of sharing experiences and knowledge with our circumpolar neighbors and the world. Canada's policy on the North, the Northern Strategy, responds to these challenges.
Two dates are important in Nunavut's modern history: July 9, 1993 and April 1, 1999. On July 9, 1993, the Canadian Parliament made the Nunavut Lands Claim Agreement effective. This was an important milestone in Canada's relationship with aboriginal peoples. On April 1, 1999, the government and territory of Nunavut were formally established. This fulfilled a key obligation under the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement and is an important landmark in Canada's constitutional history. While Nunavut Day is celebrated every year on July 9th, special attention is paid to April 1, 2009 since it marks the 10th anniversary of Canada's newest territory.

This was a fantastic exhibition really enjoyed it, But reading up about it after not all is rosie. Same old story government gives them what they want, knowing full well if they dump it on their laps and let them get on with it. They will stuggle and initially make a dogs ear of it, because they don’t have the experience and knowledge to run things properly so the Canadian government has to step in and still control. Not good.

Article about Nunavut
‘Nunavut was created before its time, he says: Inuit were uneducated and unprepared in 1999 to run a territorial government.’ Jack Anawak

Nunavut does not even fully control its annual budget: more than 90% of its billion dollar operating revenues come straight from Ottawa. The Crown still collects most of Nunavut’s resource revenues, and until the right to manage resources is devolved to the territory – likely during the next few decades – Ottawa retains the accruing royalties and taxes.
Canada’s largest land claim; before Nunavut, there was the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, the largest aboriginal land-claims settlement in Canadian history. It came into force on July 9 1993, a date now celebrated throughout the territory as Nunavut Day. However, the land claims did not actually create the new territory. That was accomplished with a separate piece of legislation, the Nunavut Act, which came into force on April1, 1999.
The Nunavut Land Claims Agreement sets out the terms of more than a billion dollars in federal payments, as well as land-use rights specific to Inuit (the right to harvest wildlife and limited rights to subsurface minerals and oil and gas, among others), in exchange for which the Inuit of Nunavut surrendered their aboriginal title and claims to lands and waters.
Nunavut’s Public Government; Unlike the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, which confers rights on Inuit alone, the Nunavut government represents all residents of the territory, known as Nunavummiut. But because the population is 85% Inuit, the agreement sets out strict Inuit employment goals. The object is to increase the number of Inuit employed by the Nunavut government to a level that reflects the ratio of Inuit within the territory’s population. An early target for April 1 1999 was 50% Inuit employment. The government did not reach that goal until 2007. Indeed, even full employment remains a distant goal. The territory’s bureaucracy is still only 80% staffed.
Evolution of devolution; The Federal Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development is responsible for the administration, control and management of land, water and resources in Nunavut, including oil and gas. But that will eventually change as those responsibilities – and the management of any related environmental issues – are transferred to the Government of Nunavut in a devolution process currently under way. But exactly when those province-like powers will change hands is unclear. ………… no deadline was proposed, and at least one item has been left off the table for now: offshore resources. Although Nunavut leaders have been pushing to include it, Ottawa is not yet ready to discuss transferring jurisdictional authority over seabed oil and gas in Nunavut’s surrounding waters.
What is clear from a consultant’s report released in June 2007 is that Nunavut has neither the human capacity nor the expertise to handle devolution. Article by Lisa Gregoire

Chuquai Billy ‘An American Werewolf in London’

'Join the Native American comedian for an hour of sharp observations on reservation life,First Nations experience of American and European cities, and his peculiar take on current affairs. Chuquai combines comedy and music with that unique Native American way of interpreting the world.'Soho Theatre

"Had to go see this must be a first a Native comedian in London, was curious about how the English would react to him if they would even get reservasion jokes? It was the Americans in he audience that were doing the laughing. I thought he was going to be a lot more political seemed to be playing it very safe."

Picasso: Challenging the Past

An old favourite Picasso, I have seen alot in the Barcelona Picasso Museum a few years ago. But there was one called 'The Musketeer' not seen it before think that this is my new favourite. Lovely very simple.

The National Gallery Costume show ‘Transformations’

May8 by 3rd yr Designers A collaboration of WCA Costume Team 3rd Yr Costume Design Students with the National Gallery. Makeup by Amanda Rudkin & Megan DeGreef from London College of Fashion

Jenny Tiramani Elizabethan Ruffs

Jenny is a dying breed, a rare gem in the crown of Elizabethan dress. This was a class on how to make ruffs historically. Fantastic. It's nice for the students to see the historical method compared with the theatrical method.

National Gallery Costume Show ‘The Prince and the Showgirl ’

May 1, 3rd Yr Costume interpretation students showing their work at the National Portrait Gallery.May 09 A Collaboration of WCA Costume Team & 3rd Yr Costume Interpretation Students with the National Gallery.

Hair & Wigs Eileen Newton WCA,makeup by Alice Kelly,Fran Collins from LCF
http://news.ntv.ru/159334/