Bearings, 2002

one of four parts, southern section of gallery space
bear - papier maché, 72" x 48" x 11" wide , on ten foot wall
Common Ground curator: Dr. Maureen Korp
Karsh-Masson Gallery, Ottawa

Bearings was, in large part, a direct response to the gallery architecture: a sanctuary with its inner sanctum, created by the ten foot walls that enclosed the space, the floor to ceiling windows that faced onto the open courtyards from the surrounding halls, the cool, white marble wall that faced you as you enter into the inner space. My orientation to this architectural space, as related to the cardinal directions, as related to the four elements and, ultimately, as related to the bears I saw on my first visit, bears walking around the top of the wall of the inner gallery - as if protecting that inner sanctum. Each cardinal point and each element was noted, marked and witnessed by the presence of a bear. Over the primary south entrance to the inner gallery, a free standing, life sized bear ambled along the top of the wall, charting the westerly path of the sun. It is as though I needed to encompass the entire space, without being readily visible, as if I wanted to occupy the ground, the air, the inside, outside dimensions without any permanent trace except in emotion and memory. For me, the bear is Nature itself, under severe duress from the encroachment of human culture.