Old shacks - new context
A few years ago I visited the shanty shacks at Finn Slough in Richmond. Finn Slough is a community that has approximately 30 residents who live in wooden houses, both floating and built on stilts, along the marshy riverbank of the Fraser River. Like many artists before me I became fascinated with the shacks that were made interesting by their aged, weathered sides, their maze of wooden support beams, ramshackle structures, their patchwork repairs, and with some, the fascinating collections of found objects that adorned their decks and walls. I wanted to find a way to capture the dilapidated beauty of the rugged cabins in a format where they could be appreciated as unique sculptural objects. I decided to photograph them and then change their context. I have found, in past photographic projects, that objects take on a whole new meaning when seen in isolation from their original context. I decided to extract the shacks from their native surroundings and place them in photographs of various spots in my condo. Seeing the cabins in their new environment has allowed me to study and reflect on their innate structures and weathered beauty and really appreciate them as unique works of art. This process brings to mind found art where a common object gains significance by being transported from it’s original environment to an art gallery setting where the artist gives people the time and a stage to contemplate the object.