Monuments of Power

Travelling to the Peace River Valley from Vancouver, I saw firsthand the impact upon the land, from large mining enterprises leaving polluted rivers, streams, and lakes; the clear cutting of forests, and the introduction of industrial work camps disrupting the structure of communities with economic and social impacts resulting from a disproportionate change in regional gender ratio with the introduction of a mostly male, transient resource work-force. This thesis support paper serves as but a brief investigation of the complex – and contentious – aspects created by authoritarian landscape architecture with respect to the Site C Dam in North Eastern BC. It is my hope that this project has added a little to the record of documentation regarding the Site C Dam. In the future, I look to further explore and create an analysis of structures of power and authority. In addition to paintings mentioned in this text, I have also been painting a series of gift portraits and landscapes of places at risk from the Site C Dam. I will be returning with these to the Peace River in 2019, to give them back to the people who have been fighting for the future.