Davenport Road c.10,000 BCE, 2012, oil marker, acrylic, Lake Ontario beach sand on Lexan, fabric, video
September 26 – October 26, 2012
Daily until 12 a.m., best viewed after dusk
ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS
911 Davenport Road
Toronto, ON M6G 2B7
E: info@weseeinc.com
Toronto-based multimedia artist Tegan Smith considers a watery past, beyond memory and history in Davenport Road c. 10,000 BCE. The window installation includes a large drawn map, coloured and textured with sand and blue glaze. The drawing is based on Canadian geologist A.P. Coleman’s 1936 maps of Lake Iroquois, Lake Ontario basin’s larger predecessor. Various geological websites and Google Earth provide vestiges of other historical high water points named Frontenac and Admiralty, and present configurations. A series of digitally displayed photographs shows Lake Ontario images merging with views of Hillcrest Park across the street from Roadside Attractions. The ridge delineates the old shoreline of Lake Iroquois, formed after the last ice age, which left valuable geological records as part of the escarpment by the lake eroded.
During her frequent walks around Toronto, Smith noticed the ridges of an ancient shoreline above her home, located in an old lakebed. Smith walked further along the escarpment and photographed the CN Tower when it was visible between buildings and trees. Scarborough Bluffs is the only place where the old shoreline coincides with the present Lake Ontario. The escarpment continues westward inland, running between Kingston Road and Queen Street East, pausing over the Don Valley and continuing on the north side of Davenport Road, making Roadside Attractions an ideal location for this site-specific installation.
Artist’s website: http://www.tegansmith.ca/main.html