The Chief
The Chief is a standing man in the manner of a scarecrow, created from feathers gathered from molting Canadian geese. He stands in a space which is vague, but mutable, yet gives him context. His arms are outstretched in a greeting, and he feels curious and alive when you walk into his atmosphere; the effect is quite disarming, simultaneously humourous and disturbing. The work was created on Toronto Island, where the geese are iconic yet ubiquitous, overpopulated. The Chief was used in a performance at the end of a month-long residency on that island, a collaboration with contemporary dancer Elizabeth Langley, called Figment of a Myth.
2005
presentation Artist in Residence studio Gibraltar Point; Toronto. (Canada)
group exhibition in public space
height: 200 cm
charcoal, wood, goosefeathers, costume