“MARKS LEFT BY PEOPLE”

Deryk Houston: The Service and Resource Centre indoor art for the city of Nanaimo BC., Canada.

Title: “Marks left by People”
Dimensions: 60 inches tall X 120inches wide

When I think of Community I like to include the history and the marks that we leave as we work to support our families; How we house, feed, communicate with and understand our fellow man.

I can’t think of anything more compelling than the images left on the cave walls by ancient peoples. Their drive to alter their space must have offered them security, a sense of place and helped define their community.
Every generation leaves its mark and I want to create a work of art that focuses on this idea.

When I started refining my final proposal for this project I had two main priorities.
One was to produce a robust and durable piece of art that could physically stand the test of time in a public space. (This space is in close quarters to chairs and tables directly below the work.)
My other priority was to create something lasting and meaningful from an artistic point of view and tells a story about the people of this place.

I have chosen to work on a single stainless steel sheet 60” X 120” wide (The one sixteenth inch thick steel does not project out from the wall in anyway, other than the thickness of the steel itself)
If someone were sitting below the work with an umbrella for example, sticking out of a backpack …….it would be very unlikely to hook under the edge when they stood up.

As I developed the actual image, I found myself searching for an anchor image to dominate the overall design and convey the story.

I went for walks through the graveyards and dug into books at the Nanaimo library and archives. I was searching for something that would reach to the heart of the story I wanted to tell…………something that would not simply focus on one event, one famous person or one important building, because I felt that this would freeze and limit the conversation. I imagined something much broader and in some ways more abstract .
I still wanted to tell the story of the marks left by people.

I fell in love with the early petroglyphs surrounding Nanaimo and how these marks left by these ancient people very much related to the marks left by the modern street lines of Nanaimo today. The images carved into the surface of those rock faces helped that community mark good fishing and hunting locations.
The maps and street grid of today also help people find their place in the community.
I am drawn to the purity of petroglyphs and am reminded that Nanaimo’s history is deeply rooted with thousands of years by the proud nation of the Snuneymuxw nation and so I saw this idea as a beautiful focus for the work.
I also wanted to incorporate an early map of Nanaimo in a gentle way but during the process of working this out, I discovered the rigid pattern and lines tended to overshadow the main visual story and so I decided to soften the ridged grid lines by simply writing the street names instead. This gave me the general radiating lines that Nanaimo is famous for and the street names also allowed me to pay homage to some of the people in Nanaimo’s history, post colonization.

I have left one strip of polished stainless steel down one side of the panel in order to represent Nanaimo’s future possibilities. The faces of visitors reflected in the steel surface will decide the new directions and goals of an already vibrant city.
Some of the panel edges would have oversize, rounded bolt heads down the sides referencing Nanaimo’s early mining, heavy equipment and pioneering history.

The black wash of acrylic paint across the top section of the surface indicates the coal history of Nanaimo. I have also included some words across the surface at random, gleaned from records of how people were injured in the mines. (“Mine flooded” etc)
The records list an amazing number of people who lost their lives or were badly burned or injured.

I have also included a list of dates down one narrow strip indicating a “Time Line” of important dates since colonization. (For example: The signing of the treaty with the Snuneymuxw nation etc.)

I believe in the power of art and the marks left by mankind and would be proud to work on this project.

Thank you
Deryk Houston
250 598 9908
www.derykhouston.com

Structure of the Work: The surface of the stainless steel sheet would be primed with an acrylic primer, followed by several layers of acrylic paint needed to create the painted images. The surface would then be coated with a couple of coats of an isolation acrylic varnish, followed by an oil, UV protecting, coat. This final varnish protects the colours from sunlight and can be removed in future years if it is seen to be needed.
Maintenance: The removal and replacement of this protective UV varnish is a very simple process that could be carried out by any picture restorer. Once every twenty years would be reasonable. (The future projected cost of removing and replacing the varnish, based on 2013 dollars, would be approx. $500.00 and could be done on location with no need to remove the structure from the wall.)

Installation:
The flat stainless steel would have holes along the top which would be fastened by hanging over sturdy bolts anchored into the studs inside the wall.
Everything would lay flat against the wall and be extremely durable, secure and safe from any movement of people.
I will install this work.

Budget

Stainless steel sheet 60”X120”
$1,300.00
Creation of the work by the artist including paints, varnishes, etc.
$12,000.00
Studio Space rental requirements for the layout
$1,000.00
Installation: (Two people)
$500.00
Truck rental for delivery
$200.00
Total
$15,000.00

Schedule for completion of installation of the work: Six weeks after the final approval the work will be ready for installation. Installation itself can be completed in one day.

Creation of the work location: The research and the core of my ideas have been formed by my experiences in Nanaimo. (Nanaimo graveyards, Nanaimo Public Library, The Nanaimo Archives, Petroglyph Park and the new Nanaimo SARC building.)

Materials, such as stainless steel, fasteners etc, will be sourced as close to Nanaimo as possible.