1/20/17

Force


Once, a long time ago, I imagined if I were to be a part of nature, what would I want to be? After much thought I chose the shoreline. For some reason the area that spent half its time above land and half its time below appealed to me most.

Perhaps this is why the sudden death of hundreds of thousands of herring touched me so... and why, when a month later starfish, lobster, crabs, scallops and many other sea creatures also decorated the shores of St Mary's Bay in Digby, I felt my heart fracture a little more.

When I first heard that our province planned to install a turbine along the Bay of Fundy I was instantly frustrated. To me it seems incredibly irresponsible to put a machine that generates that much force next to a fissure in the earth's crust.  Seems insane actually, like you're asking for trouble.

When the herring first came ashore last November I wanted to blame the turbine. Then, when I read that the deaths correlated with the flipping of the switch , which had begun uploading the gathered energy to the grid, I felt that I had my confirmation. When it happened again on December 16th I wanted to demand to the powers that be that the turbines be shut down that moment. 

But who am I and what do I know?
Since then I've read a great deal of articles, and now my mind is also questioning the dangers of sound waves. I think I can honestly say that I admire Nikola Tesla above all men, thanks to his brilliant mind and inventions we're aware of the positive and negative results caused by sound waves being released into the atmosphere; in some cases causing small birds to fall from the sky and earthquakes below. I have a mild fascination with conspiracy theories, taking them all with a grain of salt and I've read  about HAARP

I hadn't thought of sound waves in relation to the turbine beforehand and have since added another hefty check to my "con" list.

Inquiry into the cause of the massacre has seemed to have lost momentum since it was reported that Digby fisherman have attributed a rapid change in temperature  as a probable cause for the November incident. The public has apparently accepted this and I've heard of no further explanation as to the multiple species deaths in December. Recently the Chronicle Herald shared a story (which conveniently makes no mention of the 2nd more devastating occurrence) claiming a "confluence of events" as the cause.

I've found myself asking many questions since December, like was there a switch flipped again on the 16th? I have a hard time accepting temperature change as being responsible for the deaths of so many bottom dwelling creatures. Did they start uploading power to the grid again? Will they ever even tell us if they did? Will it happen again the next time they try to upload?

Since I'm unable to get answers to my questions I've had to work through my emotions the only way I know how, I felt them out!


Over the last few year's Argyle Fine Art's annual Pre-shrunk show has become part of my regular routine; it forces me to really push myself and try something new, playing extreme attention to the details. I've taught myself many new techniques coming up with these miniatures each year.

Normally I portray whimsical scenes, mostly landscapes with playful animals, but this year I've found myself in a more of a somber mood. In addition to the sea creatures my dear friend Kristie Sheehy, my inspiration for Serious Sirius, recently passed after an unfortunate accident. 

Kristie and I had a special connection and it is with her in mind that I begin my 3rd installment on my Serious Sirius series; A Force of Nature.

Before I got started on this piece I felt the need to create a tribute to the creatures that recently passed. I now consider my quadriptych "Force"  a prequel to my most recent continuation in the saga of of our ancestors and our guardians, the whales of Sirius .
 
As I brainstormed individual names for each of the 4 segments of "Force" I inadvertently  wrote this song, my first ever in fact. I may not have come up with titles for my individual "pre-shrunk" pieces, but I think this song sums up how I feel these days.



Force
Was this a force of nature?
Or was it caused by FORCE?
Can't be forced
to bite my tongue.
Can't be forced
to accept it
as
coincidence
as
coincidence
the sea is spilling over
it's creatures upon dry land
the earth has started shakin'
the air is moving past

Is this a force of nature?
Or is it caused by FORCE?
I can too
me and you
be
a force of nature
we're (all)
a force of nature

the stones are turning over
there's evidence everywhere
why won't you
admit it's true
it's more
than a force of nature
you've forced
the course of nature

2 comments:

Mit Deer said...

This work is fabulous Tacha. love the passion, honesty and beauty. Well done

Flora said...

I am very inspired by your work, your writing and your opinion about the herring deaths. What a wonderful way to express it all. Thank you so much for sharing this with us.