West End Exhibition at Hollow Earth Gallery March 6 to April 10, 2016
This is the West End of my childhood. The artist book, filled with dreamlike recollections of stories and memories of growing up in Winnipeg’s West End in the 1980s and 90s, is the entry-point to the buildings and streets in this neighbourhood which now fill me with a sense of nostalgia and wonder. The hand-painted foldout map within the book draws boundaries around these memories, leading you down the roads of what I considered my neighbourhood in the West End. Follow these streets past sculptures constructed from discarded cardboard, paper, masking tape, and paint; the West End buildings as they appeared in my childhood.
I feel a strong connection with the buildings that are (and were) part of this neighbourhood. These structures were the backdrop for my youth; the setting for many stories from my life. Being the third generation in my family to grow up in the West End, I would often reflect on my parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents experiences, stories, and memories against the backdrop of this iconic architecture. Although I never met my great-grandmother, for she passed away before I was born, she had lived down the street from where I lived. She would have shopped in the same grocery stores that I did, walked by the same churches, and perhaps celebrated a special occasion in the local restaurant. It is the magic of my West End that allows me to feel connected to my previous generations trough this neighbourhood.
Photo credits to Lindsey Bond
