D’Arcy Wilson

Atlantic Canadian artist D’Arcy Wilson’s work laments past and ongoing colonial interaction with the natural world from her perspective as a descendent of European settlers in Atlantic Canada.

The series #1 Fan consists of drawings, objects, photographs, performative gestures, and video. This work functions as a critique on wilderness spectatorship from her own settler perspective.

#1 Fan (Long Run) is filmed along the craggy oceanside cliffs of western Newfoundland. Areas of the High North, particularly in the 21st century, rely on tourism for sustainable economies at the expense of Nature’s future. #1 Fan (Long Run) is a parody of slick advertisements in which nature is commercialized.

The artist shares:

“Her amorous advances are unreturned as she considers the terrain through a colonial lens, as a spectacle. In her frenzy to be a part of the land and not to miss a moment, her romance for nature is unrequited—the terrain threatens to harm her, and she can’t seem to catch her breath. Rather than assuring a settler connection to the natural world, #1 Fan offers a counter argument to early settler naturalists’ (such as Muir and Thoreau) unwavering sense of self within the wilderness.”

D’Arcy Wilson, (Canada, born 1983), #1 Fan (Long Run), 2018-2019. Video, 7 minutes 30 seconds. Score by Russell Louder, Drone Footage by Tom Cochrane. Created with support from the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council. Courtesy of the artist. © D’Arcy Wilson


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