Ephemeral on site-installations inspired by concepts related to environmental issues about the impact of plastic and water pollution, deforestation, and regeneration.
Installations
Ghost Forest
Ghost Forest is a wall sculpture depicting a clear-cut forest, inspired by the deforested landscapes, pulp mills, and endless log piles near Kirkland Lake. The piece highlights the fragile state of our forests, raising urgent concerns about deforestation and the critical need for conservation.
Materials: Branch, acrylic, wood chip, glue, plastic figures
Size: 24”W x 58”H x 6”D
Exhibition: Arts and Letters Club, 2022 (Sold)
Event: Standing Up for Old Growth Forest, Temagami, 2022 (Organized by OSA)
The Last Island
The Last Island is a site ephemeral installation that transforms a natural boulder with bone figure sculptures, symbolizing humanity confronting the consequences of the final deforestation.
Material: Rock boulder, clay, bone sculpture observer-the witness.
Size: 3’ x 4’ x 3’.
Project: Escarpment Eraser. Collingwood (2023)
Spirit of the Fallen
Spirit of the Fallen is a site-specific installation and performance set in White Bear Forest, Temagami. Using ribbons, cloth, and movement, the piece reflects on fallen trees and the lingering essence of their absence. Vibrant ribbons were draped around the trees as the artist embodied the departing spirit, evoking themes of impermanence, time, and grief.
Choreography, Costume & Performer: Quan Steele
Music: Dermot Wilson
Video: Clare Ross/Bob Steele
Rainbow for the Last One
Rainbow for the Last One is an on-site gallery installation featuring plastic waste and a sculpture of an imagined extinct bird that perished after ingesting plastic—symbolizing the devastating impact of human negligence. The piece confronts the plastic waste crisis infiltrating daily life, polluting land and oceans, and endangering wildlife. With microplastics now detected in human blood, posing serious health risks such as cancer and infertility, the work underscores the urgent need for action.
Material: Wood, bone, paper, eggshell, plastic on acrylic-painted canvas. 46” diameter.
Exhibition: Station Gallery, 2024
Swimming Dead
Swimming Dead is an on-site gallery installation featuring an Earth-shaped canvas filled with plastic waste collected from Toronto’s lakeshore beaches. Among the debris, boat-shaped fish skeletons adorned with colourful dots represent ingested plastics, highlighting the devastating impact of pollution on marine life. This work serves as a call to action, urging collective responsibility in addressing plastic pollution before it’s too late—change is possible if we act together.
Materials: Plastic, paper, marker, colored pencil on acrylic-painted canvas
Size: 46” diameter
Exhibition: The Georgina Centre for Arts and Culture (2024)
Requiem for a Forest
Requiem for a Forest is a site-specific outdoor installation featuring firewood and bone-like figures, which the artist calls Observer: The Witness. Together, they create a surreal space that embodies the urgency of irreversible loss. The work reflects on the global crisis of overexploitation and deforestation, calling for awareness and action to protect our fragile environment.
Materials: Firewood, bone figures, clay
Size: 20'W x 8'H x 4'D
Event: Stand Up for Deforestation, organized by the Ontario Society of Artists
Created during a residency at Northern Paradise Lodge, Temagami, 2024
Forest Eater
Forest Eater is an impactful installation on a private farm land in Collingwood. The installation highlights the destructive effects of human development on nature. Through the symbol of a blind, insatiable monster consuming forests to create profit-driven communities, it confronts viewers with the stark reality of environmental harm. The piece urges action to protect old-growth forests and reflects on the tension between urban growth and preserving nature.
Size: Variation dimensions estimated around 20L x 4W x 4H feet
Media: Textile, vinyl, thread, dressmaker’s pin, styrofoam, foam core, electrical wire, stable, tinsel, aluminum, acrylic paint, pillow stuffing, wood, wood chips, tree branches, tree root, dirt
WORK IN PROGRESS
ON-SITE INSTALLATION
Seeing the Unseen
Seeing the Unseen is an on-site installation featuring a split, carved log filled with hydrocal and natural materials, resembling flesh and bone. Inspired by the loss of a family member to cancer and a cut-down infected tree—both appearing healthy yet harboring unseen illness—the work reflects on life's fragility and the hidden threats we often overlook. It explores themes of impermanence, memory, and the passage of time.
Materials: Tree log, tree branch, hydrocal, goldenrod balls, thread
Size: 4'W x 5.5'H x 3'D
Location: Black Creek Heritage Center
Interaction
Interaction is a site-specific installation integrating handmade bird nests, fungi, bones, and willow roots into a shared natural community. From canopy to roots, the tree offers shade, shelter, food, and energy, sustaining diverse species. This work highlights the vital role of forests in ecosystems and reinforces the idea that nothing in nature thrives in isolation.
Material: Handmade bird nests, fungi, bones, willow roots, and organic materials on an existing tree in High Park.
Size: 9’ x 12’ x 9’
Project: Old Growth – Resurrection, Regeneration, Intervention (2022)
Organizer: OSA & BrokenForest22
WORK IN PROGRESS
ON-SITE INSTALLATION