The Timmins Museum: National Exhibition Centre had a call-out for a juried exhibit title Northern Impressions2.0, which was to have been shown in May of 2020. However, with the Covid-19 pandemic, the deadline and show date kept getting pushed back until September 30th for digital submissions, and December 31st for the accepted pieces to be ready for hanging in January.
Sixteen artists from around the region submitted two works of art, all of which were accepted into the show. Unfortunately, just as everything was ready to go, the Province of Ontario issued a lockdown to begin on December 26th, 2020 at 12:01 a.m. Originally slated as a 14-day lockdown for Northern Ontario and 28 days in the South, the lockdown was extended in Northern Ontario until Tuesday February 16, 2021 at 12:01 a.m. (Just after the Family Day weekend.) Timmins, under the Porcupine Health Unit, re-opened as as an Orange Zone – Restrict, whereas the community had been Green – Prevent before the Christmas holidays. By the time everything re-opened, there was another exhibition scheduled in the gallery.
Since the entries were also submitted digitally as photographs, museum staff were at least able to create a virtual exhibit in the form of a slide show video, which can be viewed here: https://fb.watch/3UZBPMBnny/
Artist Statement: Karina Miki Douglas-Takayesu
The Backbone of Timmins and Hollinger Mine: 110 Years and Counting are based on observations made when the public viewing area of the Hollinger open pit mine site was opened for preview in late October of 2019.
The Backbone of Timmins was inspired by a comment I overhead by a visitor. In respect of the fact that the underground mine was also where many men lost their lives, I pay homage to them with a stylized reverse silhouette, with the path down into the open pit following the miner’s spine – a proverbial canary sits nearby.
Hollinger Mine… was painted as prop to appear in a brief film segment where I look to be painting en plein air at the mine site. Our Tourism Department had been successful in nominating Timmins in as a candidate for a video profile for Culture Days 2020.
The Gaelic Nisei 