AT THE EDGE OF WILDERNESS by
Florence Debeugny and Hildegard Westerkamp
When resource industry moves into B.C.'s landscapes, industrial sites and company towns are cut into the wilderness. The edge between wilderness and such a new place is traditionally knife sharp; poison is released into the environment by the violent penetration of industry. Once resources are drained, the company moves away, relying on natural processes to absorb the junkheaps, trailings, the waste, and eventually soften their edges. An old industry becomes artifact and lies there like a toothless monster of the past.
Through images and sounds gathered in various B.C. ghosttowns during Spring and Summer of 2000, "At the Edge of Wilderness" explores the moment of encounter between the contemporary visitor and the abandoned industrial sites. It is as if visitor and place are taking a deep breath together during this encounter, convalescing from injury, contemplating the edge where junk and artifact, noise and quiet, destruction and new growth meet; where perceptions of a shameful past in need of clean-up collide with feelings of pride towards a heritage worth preserving.
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