Golden Calf (2022)

Golden Calf: Sculpture with two-channel video animation projections (hand-drawn, 6 min). Installed behind the Bike Doctor for Nuit Blanche Saskatoon.

Central to the world’s economy, fossil fuels support most economic activities from transportation, agriculture to industry, and provides electricity and touches most of everyday household items. The multimedia installation titled Golden Calf investigates the complex intersection between society’s deep dependency on fossil fuels and its environmental impacts. Inspired by William Kentridge’s evolving landscape narratives and Krzysztof Wodiczkox’s Abraham Lincoln: War Veteran Projection, this piece combines a sculptural object and a time-based media. While suggesting an analogy between the worship of a deity versus a natural resource, Golden Calf uses allegory and symbolism to narrate a story of this resource. The installation has the capacity to address topics around human-induced climate change and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals no. 13 (Climate action).

The full installation, composed of a sculpture with two-channel video animation projections (hand-drawn, 6 min) was first installed at Nuit Blanche Saskatoon (September 2022) behind a bike store that included a shipping container and adjoining wall. The sculpture, made from recycled materials included an oil barrel, repurposed and covered in gold leaf. To activate the sculpture, the two animations projected through it. 

Collaborators: Allyson Glenn & David Sanscartier 

Allyson Glenn (Art Director, Animation, Video Editing) 

Sandra Marteleur "Lily of the Woods" and "Is" (Music Courteously of Epidemic Sound) David Sanscartier (Animation) Kaleb Whittingstall (Animation) Alexis Fraser (Animation) Laurenne Trottier (Animation) Lucy Zhou (Animation)