Exodus
Exodus documents the historical consequences of neo-colonialism and resource extraction in Cornwall, ON. Once a thriving industrial town, the departure of major manufacturing plants has resulted in a period of economic downturn and severe environmental impact to the St-Lawrence River.
Set against the backdrop of a failed idealization of the American Dream, Exodus presents a portrait of a town, but also reveals evidence of the social and ecological scars left behind by the arrival of capitalist industry to the St-Lawrence River. Inviting audiences to reflect on similar patterns in other colonized regions, this work surveys just one example of many industry towns dotting the continent, forced to pick up the fragments of a shattered dream and forge a new identity for the future.
By presenting images made in the current day alongside archival photographs made available through a partnership with the Cornwall Community Museum & Archives, this work acts as an additional data point along a timeline that is still being written. The archival photographs present an idealized version of Cornwall; a rose-coloured tint carefully applied over the hopes and dreams of nuclear families and low interest rates, while the photographs taken today reveal an honest and stark look at the results of that same promise, fast-forwarded by a few decades.
What results is an undeniable begging of the question: what comes next? Whether Cornwall leaps forward with renewed dreams of hope and reconciliation, or spirals down into deeper chasms, the only certainty is that the story remains unfinished.
