Photography Book Proposal: The Road To LA

 For this assignment I am looking to farther flesh out a zine I made during a the summer. The project explores themes of identity by exploring the changing political climate in Southern Alberta since the Covid-19 pandemic and the Trucker Convoy. Since these events took place I have been feeling very uncomfortable with my Canadian identity and how I am perceived. The following is the foreword I crafted to accompany the zine. 

 The first time I questioned my Canadian identity was the uncovering of mass indigenous       unmarked graves due to residential schools in 2021. My sister brought this to my attention as she has always been an advocate for Indigenous peoples, and cares deeply about the community. Canada day had taken on a different meaning for me; no longer a celebration of patriotism but a day of mourning and reflection on who I am, and how I got here. No longer did we wear red shirts, put temporary tattoos on each other and sing Oh Canada. This feeling of disconnectedness grew farther during the trucker convoy, the flag held a different power now. Not one of patriotism and sense of belonging that it once was, but a symbol of radicalism and hate. My fondness of Canada had changed, and the polarization of our country/province solidified that.

 

            My family is from two small towns in Manitoba: Rossburn and Neepawa.  I spent lots of time in the summer there and owe much of my childhood development to those places. Swimming in algae infested water, inspecting oneself for ticks, capturing leeches in a bucket – we did it all. The warmth and saturation of the colours at that age will always live with me, and my fondness for the decaying nature of small towns and long prairie field will remain. 

 

            This project aims to reconcile my love of the environment and route I drove when traveling back and forth from Lethbridge to Calgary over the past four years. The familiarity I felt when observing the environment around me was once comforting has changed. In these photographs I aim to display my struggles with my Canadian identity due to recent historical events.  


This project is heavily influenced by Robert Franks' The Americans. I've been taking a documentary style approach to the work to objectively displaying the state of politics in our region. I also take a heavy influence from Stephen Shores' "Uncommon Places." Walker Evans' work apart of the Farm Security Administration assignments is also a big influence in the approach I am taking. 

Here are some of the images that are currently apart of this project. 













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