improvement becomes a wall, and the river meanders still (2023), online exhibition walk. Curated by Treva Legassie.
Taking up a critical (re)reading of colonial notions of ‘improvement,’ Danica Evering, Elijah Harper, and Shelby Lisk revisit the connection between Wonscotonach (the Don River) and the city of Tkarón:to. In the late 1880s, through the Don Improvement Project, the lower river was straightened and canalized to control nature’s rhythmic course and harness the waterway’s utility. The winding and wild meander was straightened and widened, expressing a colonial desire to tame, discipline, control and use the Land; the meander became The Narrows. The online sound and video-based exhibition improvement becomes a wall, and the river meanders still speaks to relations with water as they emerge and shift through urban development.
Experience the online exhibition HERE.