Bullshit
Jamie Reynolds
Sept 6th – Nov 8th, 2024
Have you ever visited any of Saskatchewan’s provincial or National parks? Pristine packets of perfectly preserved, picture perfect parkland. The first time I visited the West Block of Grasslands National Park, we had driven to the top of a road that overlooked the area for a full panoramic view. The sun was shining through the clouds, creating visible, heavenly beams of light that highlighted the valley in a suitably dramatic way. The raw quartz crystals that litter the ground, sparkling like nature’s discoballs. The rolling hills and rainbowstriped bluffs, carvedinto the earth millenia ago by giant glaciers; slowly sculpting their legacy as they crept over the sleeping land. Picture the morning dew! Rising, as an almost magical mist, leaving the world fresh and damp and cool. Maybe there was even a majestic eagle flying overhead, screeching it’s regal approval. KAWW!
This is (more or less) the view that greeted me at the top of this road. My spirit full of awe! Myheart full of wonder! My eyes full of tears, overcome by sheer natural beauty! My foot full of… the cow shit I just steppedin.
Yeah, the moment is over.
Since this visit to the park, I have been on a years long journey to discover, “What’sup with the poop in the parks?”
The more I went in to the rabbit hole (poop chute?) of research about ecology, biology, preservation vs conservation, the history of the parksand crown land,the history of the land itself, and the plants and animals that live (and don’t live) on it, the more I started to think to myself, “Wellthis is bullshit.” And then, “I wonder if other peopleknow about this?”
Inspired by my incredibly creative children, (who thought it would be funny to take multiple photos of cow poop in the grass when I asked them to, “take pictures of anything interesting they saw” – they were right, it was funny), this show was developed as my contribution to the conversation about reconciliation and the environment. Its about finding beauty in disgust, and how what we think of as naturalis more artificial than we might expect.But mostly, it’s because filling the sterile, white walled gallery space (the penultimate expression of western Colonialist Art ideals) with literal shit is the kind of irony that I find personally hilarious.
Cheers, and welcometo the shitshow. 💩😃
