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| Click
on images for enlargements. |
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| Apothecary's
Cope |
Feather
Cope |
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Mourning
Quilt for the Extinct and
Extirpated Birds of Canada |
Mourning
Quilt for the Extinct and
Extirpated Fish, Reptiles and
Amphibians of Canada |
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| Mourning
Quilt for the
Extinct and Extirpated Plants of Canada |
Mourning
Quilt for the
Lost and Disappearing Mammals of Canada |
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| Arbutus
Dress |
Silal
Armour |
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| Susanna
Moodie's Cope |
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If
Charles Darwin were still voyaging around the world, these are some
of the items that might be found in his collection of curios, samples
and gifts. These pieces, however, represent lost species and worlds
rather than "new" ones. They also tell stories about their
past, some of which are real and some imaginary.
"The landscape was saying something but I couldn't hear"
*
One of the ideas explored by this exhibit is loss or change brought
about by adaptation and extinction, specifically as a result of
the human impact on the land. The 3 medieval copes suggest power
and greed and represent our desire to control the land for personal
gain. The 3 suits of armour represent combat and subjugation and
reflect the war we wage daily on the land. The 3 shifts embody our
desire to own a piece of the earth in order to appreciate its beauty.
Four full-size quilts, reminiscent of Victorian mourning quilts,
complete this show. They document the extinct, extirpated and endangered
species of Canada and, as such, provide a record of these lost worlds
the way explorers' journals of old recorded the discovery of "new"
worlds and all that these worlds held.
"Whether the wilderness is real or not depends on who lives
there" *
Darwin's Wardrobe also explores ideas about the representation of
reality; how one person's documentation of facts becomes another
person's fiction. How in the telling, the subject is lost or changed
and assumes the identity of the narrator.
The Feather Cope resembles a cape given to Captain Cook on his voyages
to Hawaii, but actually refers to the fates of Icarus and Daeadalus.
The Leaf Cope examines the settlers' experience in Canada, but through
the poetry of Margaret Atwood in her collection The Journals of
Susanna Moodie. This account removes us from the actual writings
of the time and presents us with fragmented stories interfaced with
twentieth century dilemmas.
"At the last judgment we will all be trees" *
*The Journals of Susanna Moodie. Poems by Margaret Atwood.
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