BOW RIVER (2015) is an 18 channel video installation that portrays a stretch of the Bow River from its source at the Wapta Icefield in the Canadian Rocky Mountains to downtown Calgary.
The project was conceived on a hike to Iceberg Lake. At the back of the lake, melt water from Bow Glacier streams down a headwall into the lake. The water then flows out the other end of the lake and over Bow Glacier Falls. This is the source of the Bow River. While at the lake, I thought about the water molecules traveling thousands of miles to the Arctic Ocean while other molecules get diverted to sustain human communities all along the way. Rivers are the lifeblood of the land. The ecology of the entire planet is dependent on the health of its rivers.
A river, in its entirety, can only be comprehended through map-making or satellite imaging. From ground level, only small sections of a river can be seen at a time. BOW RIVER combines both these viewpoints into a video installation that connects a series of ground level shots into a map-like overview.
A river is a four dimensional phenomenon that exists more as a concept then a tangible thing. To quote the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus, “You cannot step into the same river twice.” It is the same river but not the same river and you are the same person but not the same person. The world is like a river, it is in constant flux.
Installation view at OAG, 2018
Installation view at Nickle Galleries, 2016