we are currently at threat level red
mixed media installation
a part of Mapping the Prairies Through Disaster

A futuristic story of disaster and resistance. An endless series of tornados continually barrel through a neighbourhood until scientists discover a way to protect a part of the area.  By placing the area under an invisible glass dome the community is split in two: Zone A – although protected, residents are continually reminded of the looming threat of disaster through controlled movement and constant surveillance; and Zone B – where inhabitants are able to roam freely but at the mercy of the tornados as their own scientists work to trap the unpredictable tornados in glass jars. This new work considers the ways that disaster can reshape and shift boundaries and wonders about the degree to which some might be willing to give up their freedoms in order to feel safe.

With text from archival research into Edmonton’s “Black Friday” – a devastating tornado that ripped through the south-eastern part of the city on Friday, July 31, 1987.

Archival research done at: The Archives at the University of Colorado at Boulder Libraries (Boulder, CO); The Archives & Special Collections of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Libraries (Lincoln, NE); The Library / Archives of the Nebraska State Historical Society (Lincoln, NE); The Saskatchewan Archives (Regina & Saskatoon, SK); The University of Saskatchewan Archives (Saskatoon, SK); The City of Regina Archives (Regina, SK); the Alberta Provincial Archives (Edmonton, AB); the City of Edmonton Archives (Edmonton, AB); The Blair-Caldwell African-American Research Library of the Denver Public Library (Denver, Colorado); The Hazel E. Johnson Research Center at the Greeley History Museum (Greeley, Colorado).

Made with support from the Canada Council for the Arts (Media Arts Section)