Talking to Trees

By Duncan Ris

Duncan Ris is a husband, father, son, artist, and student rooted in Vancouver, BC. Finishing an MA in Theological Studies at Regent with a concentration in the Arts and working as a freelance videographer, Duncan seeks to integrate theological reflection with creative practice in the marketplace. Learn more on his website.

My artist grandmother died when I was seven and I have grieved deeply losing the chance to collaborate and interact with her regarding my art. This project is rooted in the gift of a series of found poems my grandmother had created from Emily Carr’s journals. I selected, ordered, and edited my grandmother’s distillation of Emily’s words into my own "found screenplay," conceived as a conversation between me and a woman who is simultaneously Emily Carr and my grandmother.

The second part of this project was an exploration of Pacific Spirit Park. I walked the paths through the trees again and again, taking pictures and video, trying to notice the details and discover what the poems described. Each walk was a gift and yet the journey of love was ever unfinished, demanding that I return to the forest again and again. In the process, I gained a new appreciation of place and a sense connection to the world around me; I embraced the dirt and trees and moss that I so often ignore. I am guilty of hiding behind walls and doors and screens, sitting in chairs and driving in cars, surrounded by concrete and drywall and glass, which create an illusion of disconnection and distance but betray my dependence.