The Silver Road

The Silver Road was initiated during a two-week artist residency at the Joya: AiR art residency in Spain where I collected and collaged photographs of the surrounding landscape - Sierra María-Los Vélez National Park. Drawing attention to climate change in Europe’s most arid region, the artworks addressed the topic of water (or lack thereof). The land in this region was once occupied by moors who built complex water systems. Today, remnants of underground wells and terraced irrigation structures can be found. These are sometimes maintained by farmers, who use the water systems to grow crops such as orchards of almond trees. With climate change, however rainfall has increasingly diminished and has led to sparse vegetation and desertification. Consequently, residents have either abandoned or left their homes unoccupied. To develop the paintings, I referenced photographs (collaged and re-arranged) that I gathered during the artist residency.  The Silver Road builds on my previous projects Catalyst, Dust, and Tertium Quid, which address the topics of sustainability and home. The paintings were displayed in 2017 for a solo exhibition “Bliss and the Dreadful Sublime” at the GALLERY Art Placement in Saskatoon, Canada.