One of my favourite spaces in Wreck City is the Greenhouse project. I want the greenhouse to stay. Could it be our collective Walden? When people entered the space, they became more quiet. Surrounded by Christmas trees, once cut, now planted back into soil…filling the air with the strong smells of life and GREEN, one discovers the workshop space, the notations, quotes and archives of a magical and positive process.
Please explore the photographs and the in depth explanation of this process HERE! I appreciate that Lane shared this narrative…so important, I think, to the life of the work. ”
“After negotiating the use of the space, John Webster the original builder and owner of the greenhouse stopped by and I learned that he would grow food all year round, piping in hot water from the house boiler. He would grow seedlings in the greenhouse and move them to a farm where they would grow to maturity and then get donated to charity. It became my focus to pay homage to a place that provided so much growth, and once again transform it into a lively environment before it’s demolition.”
While my photographs do not capture the same clarity, they are an attempt to capture the sense of the space on opening night. I will return this week to enjoy the quietude again.
“Lane is a scavenger artist based in Calgary, Alberta. Drawing from construction waste and items Lane is a scavenger artist based in Calgary, Alberta. Drawing from construction waste and items found by happenstance, he builds elegant sculptures and installations that both challenge and indulge our relationships with the things we throw away. Lane mines the immediate surplus of materials available, and, informed by his environment, re-frames it into cohesive structures, allowing its presumed worth to be re-evaluated. Embracing shift and impermanence, Lane abides by the notion that we live in a cultural mash-up of ideas rooted to all parts of history – as with memory, each idea becomes new with every attempt to access and re-create it.”
Lane is all of this, but he is also just a genuine person who is generous with sharing his ideals and his friendship. He has been a partner in painting at the Gorilla House and his insights and approach are appreciated.