Public Artwork
Belonging
Artwork creator(s):
Dextras, Nicole
Text author(s):
Dextras, Nicole
Installation year:
2007
Remarks on location:
Under the bridge
Text of the artwork:
[literary component #1 («Belong»)]
Belong
[literary component #2 («abandon»)]
abandon
[literary component #3 («CLAIM»)]
CLAIM
[literary component #4 («Photomontage») ]
Indian Reserve (Snauq)]
Photograph shows Mary (Yam-schloot),
Jericho Charlie (Chin-nal-set), William Green,
Peelass George, Jimmy Jimmy and Jack (Tow-hu-quam-kee)
Vancouver Archives. Old photo #: In P28N11
TITLE: [Group near Jericho Charlie's home on Kitsilano Indian Reserve (Snauq)]
DATE: Aug. 15, 1891 FONDS: Major Matthews' collection
Text theme:
Possession; local Native history
Artwork theme:
Squamish First Nation land claim; history of the site
History:
This project took place in the late spring of 2007. The site is located under a bridge in Vancouver which has a complex history. This land was once a Native fishing village and was later appropriated by the railroad. The area is often a shelter for homeless people who camp in the vicinity in the undergrowth. It is also used by commuters as a shortcut to transit and it is popular with cyclists and dog walkers. The area is still a contentious issue with the Squamish First Nation who controls some of the land and is planning to erect billboards along the bridge. This project began with the idea of creating structures made out of Blackberry branches that grow profusely on the West Coast and now includes many other ephemeral works that speak to the history of the place.
Note(s):
Other components (non-ephemeral literary installations) of the project: Shelter (blackberry branches, willow, sedge grass, unknown tropical plant stock and cuttings, seeds, mountain ash berries, Douglas fir branches and cones, yarrow plants); Shade Garden (flower garden [coleus, impatiens, fern], red velvet sofa, photomontage [family portrait negative, photocopy, text, colour pencil], blackberry crown of thorns); Small Shelter (blackberry branches, willow branches); Spiral (seed pods); Amphitheatre (willow branches, hydrangea flowers, harvested cattails and cattail leaves [from the pond in False Creek], yellow tansy, fir branches); Weather Vane (gunnera leaves, willow branches, ivy); Four Moons Path (gunnera leaves, magnolia leaves, cottonwood tree fruit/ seeds, thorns); Fluff on theTrax (magnolia leaves, cottonwood tree seeds, thorns); Crown of Thorns (blackberry branches); Camellia Shelter (camellias, willow branches); Ladder to Nowhere (blackberry stems)
Artist's biography:
Nicole Dextras Document(s):
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