Artist in residence: Andrew Godsalve

Andrew Godsalve is an artist and wildlife technician based in Hinton, Alberta. Hinton is a small town in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, along the Athabasca River. There Andrew was raised in a family studying wildlife biology. His mother Beth MacCallum runs Bighorn Wildlife Technologies, a small private consulting company that works primarily with the coal mining industry in the Hinton area. They do wildlife surveys on and around open-pit coal mines, making recommendations for how the industry can mitigate their impacts on the wildlife. As a Wildlife Technician, Andrew has learned to read the landscape as to observe the animals and how they inhabit it. This upbringing has had a profound effect on his artistic interests.

Andrew graduated with a BFA from the University of Victoria where he developed a practice of photomontage based on geologic forms and processes. He then took his “geo-photomontage” practice to residencies in Banff, Iceland and the Bay of Fundy, developing projects specific to the particular geologic histories of these regions.

A recent graduate of the MFA program at NSCAD University, Andrew is pleased to be back in Nova Scotia for back-to-back residencies along the Bay of Fundy.

He has just completed his arts residency through the Joggins Fossil Institute’s ArtScape Artist-in-Residence program where he has been working on “Camera Sigillaria”, a project tracing the geo-histories of Cumberland County and now from 1-14 November he will continue the work in Parrsboro through the Main & Station Nonesuch residency program. During this time Andrew will also teach an Artistic Geo-photography Workshop, lead a Geo-montage Walking Tour, and have an exhibition of his photographs. See below for details.

Artistic Geo-photography

an outdoor workshop with Andrew Godsalve

Are you curious about geology and photography? 

This outdoor walking workshop is about the joy of photographing rocks, sand, fossils and other geological formations, led by an artist interested in the science of geology. 

While walking the beach at East Bay, participants will engage with earthen textures and histories through the artistic use of the lens. We will learn about shooting landscapes and small pebbles, and we will create photo- abstractions that blur the boundaries between things large and tiny. 

Photo credit: Alicial Hunt

I am an artist captivated with the idea of geodiversity – the idea that our geologic earth is a collage of difference. Each land is unique, an ever-changing and non-repeatable fabric of different minerals, animals, plants and theories. I work with the understanding that there is no such thing as a timeless landscape – rather each landscape is time-rich: if fossils can be seen as photographs, then broader terrains can be read as photo albums, whose contents are being continually revised. Every land is a shifting multitude, rife with slices of different pasts, present-times and potential futures embedded within it.

Photo credit: Alicial Hunt

Through my work I seek to ask: What happens when we make landscape photography play by geology’s rules? How do our ideas about space, time and environment change when this question is posed? The past times of Earth are unpredictable, and much can be learned by listening to its layered stories. 

WHEN: SATURDAY & SUNDAY, 7 & 8  November 2020  from  10 am – Noon

WHERE: the beach at East Bay; participants will meet at the Partridge Island Beach parking lot adjacent to Ottawa House shortly before 10am.

COST: $25 / person. No charge for children under 12 who are accompanied by an adult.

REGISTRATION: To register, please email [email protected] or call 514-979-3978.

The four main objectives of this workshop are as follows. First, to show how geological photography can be a fascinating journey between shooting landscapes, abstractions and very small things. Second, to encourage participants to approach geological science through an artistic lens, showing how an aesthetic interest can foster a curiosity about the earth processes that brought these features into being. Third, to allow participants to grow their confidence in using a camera in an inclusive environment of mutual learning. Fourth, to show participants an enjoyable and rewarding way of engaging with the natural world, embracing the slowness of geological creation.

The workshop is open to all skill levels of photography, and all levels of familiarity with geological concepts. Learning will happen on a basis of mutual respect and inclusiveness as we share our different techniques, theories and ideas.

Participants will be expected to bring their own cameras to use during the workshop. There are no requirements as to the type of camera to be used, so long as the participant is excited about taking photographs with it. Participants should be prepared to move slowly along a rocky beach for 2 hours. It is advised that participants wear weather-appropriate clothing as well as sturdy footwear appropriate for navigating uneven terrain.

Participants will meet at the Partridge Island Beach Parking lot adjacent to Ottawa House shortly before 10am.

A Nonesuch Collaborative Residency : Lancaster, Smallwood, Waldron

Lancaster Elsewhere Exhibition 360 gel transfers on wood

This July Main & Station is delighted to welcome back artist Sydney Lancaster and geologist John Waldron, and to introduce composer Scott Smallwood to Parrsboro.

The team are collaborating on a multidisciplinary project that will “explore both the limitlessness of the tide’s ebb and flow, and the limits of human capacity to comprehend time on that immense scale”.

This summer is a 2 week Research & Development Residency, to plan and develop a new site-specific sculptural installation responding to the tidal range in the Bay of Fundy. The goal is to scout potential locations for an installation, meet with local people (potential collaborators) and get to know the area.  The team will also be learning about local materials and trying some experiments to see what might best be used for the work, a large-scale site-based sculptural installation which they hope to create and document in summer 2017.

Want to know more? Join us for an artist’s talk, a workshop or a walk…

  • Sydney Lancaster will be giving an ARTIST’S TALK at Main & Station on Wednesday, 6 July at 7pm.
  • Scott Smallwood will be giving an ARTIST’S TALK at Main & Station on Wednesday, 6 July at 8pm.
  • Take a GEL TRANSFER PRINTMAKING WORKSHOP with Sydney Lancaster…https://hmsnonesuch.com/gel-transfer-printmaking/
  • Join John Waldron for a Geology Shore Walk on Saturday 16 July, 2 – 4 pm

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