Join us over the opening weekend of Shuttered for a slide talk and Q&A with Toronto-based photographer Victoria Piersig who will discuss her ongoing body of work, Trading Places.
“Trading Places is a body of work that illustrates the growing disconnect between urbanites and the production of commodities that sustain them. Natural resources have driven Canadian settlement and the movement of staples to market has become a part of the Canadian psyche. And yet, for all our acknowledgment of the past and the commodities that built our country, the majority of Canadians – even those who live along the major waterways – no longer attach any present-day relevance to the merchant marine. Traveling aboard traditional Canadian-built lake freighters, I capture the twenty-four hour workdays filled variously with harsh beauty, discomfort, boredom, and the ever changing environment. These images explore the sites of old industries which struggle to maintain their presence in the landscape – and the ships that connect them.
The bulk carriers I have traveled upon, have been, or are soon to be decommissioned, and replaced by vessels built offshore. As these beautiful ships – well loved by the men and women who sail them and the “boat nerds” that follow them – disappear from the landscape, so shall a large part of Canadian contemporary shipping history.”
This artist’s slide talk with be introduced by Sarah Salise and Siobhan Angus, members of WAHC’s Youth Council, who will lead a guided tour of the Shuttered exhibition.
This event is presented in partnership with Hamilton Winterfest 2016.
