By the time we made it back from our adventure, our car heavily weighed down by our collection of rocks*, I knew I’d stumbled upon something pretty special.
Fossils, the name of the series, was inspired by our trip; while searching for fossils of nature, we happened upon the fossils of photography – silver-based emulsion prints that had been changed over time.
When naming the individual pieces, I harkened back to the process of collecting and categorizing fossils modeled by Martin on the trip. Each sample collected was placed in a numbered, cloth bag to keep record of the date and location of its finding. I replicated these numbers in the individual titles.
In 2013, I presented the Fossils collection in my first solo show at the Earl Selkirk Gallery, Articulations. The show was part of the Contact Photography Festival and it was a thrill to share some of the story at an artist talk and to see people interacting with the artwork.
Fossils still holds a special place in my heart. Not only am I proud of the project – it is a beautiful reminder of an epic, hilarious, at times dangerous and once-in-a-lifetime trip.
*When we crossed the border back into Canada and were asked if we had anything to declare, we said no – we’d not been in any place with shopping… The Border agent replied, “Can you tell me why your car is ___ pounds heavier than when you entered the US?” Oh, right – rocks! So many rocks.
Fortunately, Martin had documentation from the ROM about the purpose of the trip. Even still, our car was very nearly impounded for being to dirty and/or having dirty rocks in it.