Lightscape Projects: GUSHUL: Australian participants in the RMIT / University of Lethbridge Canadian exchange residency 2015

Kirsten Lyttle (2015 exchange), shown at Rodda Lane and Building 2 Lightwell Lightscapes, RMIT UNIVERSITY, 16 February to 20 June 2016.

https://www.intersect.rmit.edu.au/2016#/-ls-/gushul/

Series Title:  In the mountains you can’t see people approaching

Taken during my 2015 residency, these images show the town of Blairmore, Crowsnest Pass, Alberta, Canada. This is the traditional territory of the Blackfoot (the indigenous people of the land), and Crowsnest Mountain is one sacred Blackfoot site that is visible from the town of Blairmore. During my time in this town, there were no Blackfoot people or families living in Blairmore. The towns’ inhabitants assumed, by my looks, that I was Blackfoot. Part Hollywood Western, part Gregory Crewdson film set, I can testify that this town is a site of old and continued racism; it does not pay to be viewed as indigenous in this town. When First Nation friends (Plains Indians) came to Blairmore to visit me, they said they felt uneasy; in the plains, you can see someone approaching for miles, in the mountains, people can sneak up on you. This series attempts to show both the beauty and fear of a small Alberta town.