KATE COLLYER

Wayfaring, the act of traveling by foot, connects us to our environment and subsequently those that walk the same paths.  In documenting our experiences on-trail we are giving word to the visual.  Using this “literacy of a landscape,” artworks call the audience to resonate with wilderness and alter how they perceive its preservation.  Where do stories end and works of art begin?  Within this confluence, visuals can generate stewardship and foster a connectedness among individuals in these shared environments, “celebrating the grandeur of a common landscape.” (IAT)

Entrenched in research and exploration, my works pay homage to the environment while referencing their dissipation, phenomena, and beauty.  When you have passed through ice-filled fjords and down well-worn desire paths, the need to defend these areas becomes vital.  Places that, if not for these reflections, will be lost with time. 

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“Wonder is one of the most powerful forces with which we are born.” (Kagge) This is the tether that pulls me towards the unknown, urgent, and unseen.  Exchanges are made every moment within the structures of our landscapes, as we walk pathways littered with softly uttered tales, we do the same.  These works share rich histories; are meeting places of innovation and tradition.  Participatory works become mutual aid practices, protection marks, for the sacred corners in our environment, designed to achieve an exoteric recognition, becoming a form of soft activism.

 

Leading us to act for the inheritance we’re leaving; are we being good ancestors?

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[1] Silence in the Age of Noise, Erling Kagge, [2] Jon Fosse