This visual poem is an exploration between the connection to nature and non-linear time. Earth transcends time. Our western understanding of time cannot comprehend the scale of time that Earth and all its creatures have been thriving.
Hands is an attempt to relate to the immeasurable force of nature as humans pass down a legacy of environmental stewardship over resource extraction. I was inspired by Tetepiskat, a photo journal and creative writing pieces, by Natasha Kanape Fontaine.
In the piece, the transition of seasons intersects the transition of information. As the piece progresses the traveller learns the value of caring for the land and people who call it their home. Together they make it through the depths of winter to celebrate the return of the sun together.
"Hands"
My hands are reaching out
Stretching through time
Searching for answers
Where did I come from?
Where am I going?
Where do I belong?
I am a traveller from many places
Yet none are my home
My hands are reaching
Searching
Looking for guidance
Generations before me
brought us to this point
I come from travellers from a faraway place
They never stopped reaching
Taking
My hands are reaching
Searching
For love
For strength
For connection
I am a traveller moving through time
On a land called Turtle Island
My hands move with me
They hold the knowledge given to me
By the people who call this land home
Generations before me
Brought us to this point
It will take generations to get us back
Travelling together
Walking hand in hand
Across a land called Turtle Island
Nanaimo, BC. Traditional lands of the Snuneymuxw Nation
Victoria, BC. Traditional lands of the Wsanec Nation.
Cowichan Valley, BC. Traditional lands of the Cowichan Nation.
Tofino, BC. Unceded territory of the Tla-O-Qui-Aht Nation.
Gilmour, ON. Treaty #27. Traditional Lands of the Anishinaabe Nation.
Gilmour, ON. Treaty #27. Traditional Lands of the Anishinaabe Nation.
Gilmour, ON. Treaty #27. Traditional Lands of the Anishinaabeg Nation.
Guelph, ON. Treaty #3. Toronto, ON. Treaty #13. Traditional lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples.
Toronto, ON. Treaty #13. Traditional lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples.
