Elegy for a Stolen Land by Peter Sibbald will run at the Minarovich Gallery at the Elora Centre for the Arts opening Aug. 4 to Sept. 1, with the opening reception Aug. 4, at 7:30pm.
The photographs of Sibbald reveal the contested meanings and opportunities of the soil we live on. On returning to an area of Ontario where seven generations of his family has lived, he was surprised at the rate of development and urbanization. He began to question the nature of relationship with land and a series of events increased the project’s scope: the Ipperwash Inquiry, the disputation of lands in Caledonia, the pronouncement of the Golden Horseshoe’s green belt, and the steady attrition of farmland.
His images, mostly in panoramic format, encompass a broad sweep of protests, real estate, archeological digs, and agricultural change. Accompanying the photographs are Sibbald’s texts to provide an understanding of the images and the land.
For over 25 years documentary photojournalist Sibbald has photographed for many of the world’s most prestigious magazines, meanwhile concentrating the focus of his personal work on the themes of land, home and colonization.
The Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council have provided support for this ongoing project.
