Roots Canada: The nice Roots Artspace
Artwork commissioned by Roots Canada for their Montreal flagship store, to commemorate Canada's 150th anniversary.
Artist Statement
Canada is a vast and beautiful country, and with such a diverse landscape. In this artwork, my intention is to pay tribute to the land – the whole of Canada, as well as this specific location, which is unceded, Kanien'kehá:ka traditional territory – and to the creatures who call this country home. As good Canadian critters, the animals in this piece are interacting in various gestures that could be described as “nice.”
The ongoing destruction of natural habitat and abuse of our planet mirrors our broken connection with ourselves – the fractured nature of our psyche, and our denial of soul. To reclaim kindness towards oneself is the first step in remembering what it is to be loved and treated well. It then becomes easier and increasingly more obvious that other beings and places deserve to be treated well, also. We have more energy to direct towards other people and initiatives. Being nicer to others comes more and more naturally.
There is so much we can do to prevent further destruction, and to restore Canada’s beautiful wilderness. The small changes count too, and the more people commit to making these small changes, the more they will add up. Where in your life can you ditch plastic? What are you wanting to buy that could be purchased second-hand? Even if we all simply stopped using plastic straws, avoided products in extraneous packaging, drove less, and stopped leaving the tap on full blast while washing dishes, that would add up.
There is always something more that we can each do. And that would be nice. That would be really, really nice.
I’d like to think that my friends here agree. Here’s to another 150 years of a beautiful, and cleaner, Canada. Thank you to Roots Canada for granting me this platform.
Be nice to yourself. You deserve it.
Now go spread it around.
-May 2017
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Production
Painting Videos
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