BOOM, an art show showing the ups and downs of the Canadian Prairie economy through the photographs of Rick Pelletier and Valerie Zink is now open at pARTners Art Gallery in the Yorkton Public Library.
鈥淭he mirror image of 鈥榖oom鈥� is 鈥榖ust鈥�. This exhibition reflects on these irrevocably intertwined concepts through the lens of recent events in rural Alberta and Saskatchewan. Booms make for ingenuity, with people drawn to a promise of work and a better future getting creative in finding ways to survive amongst the fray of industry,鈥� said the show brochure.
鈥淭hrough the photography of Rick Pelletier and Valerie Zink, Boom seeks to explore the effects industry has on communities. Rather than critiquing the industries that determine a rapid economic upturn, this exhibition focuses on the human component 鈥� the workers and community members themselves. Complex and nuanced, the experience of participating in a boom is not often a straightforward narrative. Higher salaries and available work are driving factors for rapid population growth. However, with a massive increase in population comes the negative effect of a decrease in quality of life, from lack of housing to failing infrastructure, not to mention possible geographical isolation and the disruption of local culture. Yet, there are positives, increased profits for businesses, increase in jobs, and an influx of people from diverse cultures. This exhibition seeks to explore both sides from the standpoint of the people involved a boom,鈥� detailed a show brochure at the gallery.
鈥淭hroughout history, booming economies have come and gone within Canada, transforming the new construction of once robust centres into the skeletal remains of ghost towns across the landscape. Not all communities that boom go bust. Boom economics, arguably, motivated the formation of Canada by way of the fur trade. Just as beaver fur hats did not stay in fashion, the output of boom economies is often tied to the fickle demands of global markets that change with frequency just like the people who inhabit them. What does remain consistent throughout history and changing communities is the need to capture these epochs. Artists interpret experiences that would otherwise be lost in the shuffle of time, people, places and industry. Rick Pelletier and Valerie Zink are two of these artists who give us a thoughtful glimpse into a history not far from anyone鈥檚 memory.鈥�
Pelletier, who lives in Prince Edward Island, but taught outside of Vancouver, said he used the distance to explore the country through a camera lens, making the trip often in a car.
Pelletier said almost all of the images he has shot have been found initially from the car seat, and are usually taken only a short walk from the driver鈥檚 seat.
The images captured are what might best be termed modern landscapes. The photographs capture scenes of rural and small town life, some showing the decay and others the promise. Pelletier called his work 鈥渃ontemporary landscapes.鈥�
Pelletier said he simply captures what attracts his attention as he drives around the country.
鈥淚 never know what I鈥檓 going to see,鈥� he said.
The process is to find the scene he is attracted too. Pelletier then walks around looking for just the right angle and then he shoots the photograph, capturing the scene as he sees it.
鈥淚 take one or two shots, that鈥檚 it... I don鈥檛 crop (in processing). I crop in the camera only,鈥� he said.
And he only tweaks colour on the computer as a means to replicate what he saw as accurately as possible.
鈥淚 want the best possible colour I can,鈥� he said, but added that is only within the context of the natural scene.
Pelletier said he has long been fascinated by the camera.
鈥淪ince I was 12-years-old I started with a camera,鈥� he said.
Pelletier would grow up to be involved in a career in a print shop, which is those days 鈥渉ad a dark room鈥� and that naturally fed his interest in working with film.
Initially, Pelletier said he worked in black and white, and still does on occasion, although colour is now his film of choice.
鈥淚鈥檝e been doing colour photography since the 1980s,鈥� he said.
Pelletier said he has always adapted to changes in the medium.
鈥淭his is all digital,鈥� he said motioning to the work hanging in the Yorkton gallery. 鈥淚 started in digital in 鈥�96.鈥�
Pelletier said he feels at home in a gallery such as pARTners.
鈥淚 really like doing the public galleries. It really appeals to me,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 really like getting my images out there for the public.鈥�
It鈥檚 also an opportunity to learn from the public, offered Pelletier who said he can also garner insights from what the viewing public thinks of his work.
鈥淧eople tell me things about my work I never knew,鈥� he said.
鈥淰alerie Zink鈥檚 photographs are reminiscent of small prairie towns anywhere. Sprinkled throughout, however, are artworks that particularly highlight the unique situations and sights reserved for those living in a boomtown. Teresa and Julian shows a couple sitting together in a loving embrace on a single bed in Estevan, Saskatchewan. The viewer is asked to make sense of what this tight accommodation means. This image portrays a situation that arises from too many people, due to a massive influx of workers needing a place to stay that, if it exists, is at a cost restrictive to living there. This is an all too familiar situation for many workers. Zink is interested in the human experience. Her images focus on the people, not the industries that brought them here. There is sympathy in her work for the workers, the transient populations, and the residents, for the people living and working in these situations. She, like Pelletier, cares to give voice to these people, and encourage discussion about their experience,鈥� details the brochure on Zink鈥檚 work.
鈥淚 would talk about how the exhibition looks at the ambiguities of boom-bust economy and tie it to the current economic climate and austerity measures in Saskatchewan, which are hurting a lot of people. Maybe it can be an opportunity for people to consider other ways of orienting our futures,鈥� she said via Pelletier.
The show is one provided through the Organization of Saskatchewan Arts Councils.
Since 1975, the Organization of Saskatchewan Arts Councils (OSAC) has presented and toured visual and media arts exhibitions throughout the province through its Arts on the Move program. OSAC aims to provide quality exhibitions to communities that will enhance awareness and appreciation of Saskatchewan and Canadian artists. Exhibitions are curated and mounted from partnering institutions, from public and corporate collections and from local adjudications held throughout the province.
OSAC is an umbrella organization that enables community arts councils and schools to tour and hold live music and theatre performances, visual arts exhibitions, workshops and special events across Saskatchewan. It was founded in 1968 by a group of volunteers representing eight arts councils across the province. It has grown since its formation into a vital network and has roughly 50 volunteer-run member arts councils and approximately 100 school centre associate members throughout Saskatchewan.
