Waterfowl Artist-in-Residence explores the marsh from underneath
On Sept. 19, Waterfowl artist-in-residence Jacob Puffer unveiled works completed over the summer during a presentation at the Sackville Visitor Information Centre. The talk was a culmination of Puffer’s residency in Waterfowl, during which he created a project titled Water To A Fish. His installation, which draws attention to the “unseen portion” of Waterfowl Park, now stands by a trail near Tantramar Regional High School.
Puffer’s presentation began with a quote by David Foster Wallace where two young fish suddenly ask themselves, “what is water?” Since graduating from Mt.A’s department of fine arts program in the spring, Puffer says he has thought about this question a lot. He tried to place the awareness that something commonplace can also be unknown into his project. By choosing to capture the underwater ecosystem of Waterfowl Park using alternative photography methods, he examined how a mostly-unseen marshscape can be equal in importance and beauty to a forest of trees. Puffer also considered water’s existence as both an “extracted resource” and a catalyst for “human connection.”
As Puffer showed photographs, mostly filled with aquatic plant life, from the duration of his project, he spoke about the methods he tested over the summer. Focusing on natural materials, he printed cyanotypes on handmade paper and developed film using a mixture of plant compounds before fixing it in saltwater from the Bay of Fundy. Cyanotype is a photographic process where objects are laid on paper or fabric coated with a photosensitive chemical solution. Sun exposure causes the uncovered sections of the paper to turn cyan-blue, while the covered sections remain white. In a written statement to The Argosy, Puffer said it was important to be “working in really ecologically considerate and alternative ways and embracing the kind of imperfect and degraded results that that brings.”
During an interview with The Argosy prior to the presentation, Ron Kelly Spurles,
director of the Waterfowl artist-in-residence program, said he was not yet sure what subjects Puffer’s art would contain. He wondered whether any duck feet had been captured in Puffer’s photographic process, and expressed anticipation for seeing the community take in art together. Adding that community members track projects over the summer, Kelly Spurles noted that “people are really appreciative of having the artist in the park.” Kelly Spurles said that the opportunity for artists to work in Waterfowl “combines two of Tantramar’s great strengths, which are our amazing outdoors, and then our community’s love of arts.”
Rachel Thornton, Puffer’s partner, told The Argosy they have seen the project “develop from early ideas and discussions to taking underwater photographs, to translating those photographs into images on glass and cyanotype, and then into a final installation that is now in the Waterfowl Park.” Thornton described the workshop that Puffer ran in the park during the summer as an opportunity for surprise and learning, where people walking by the Doncaster Bridge could stop and make a cyanotype.
After the presentation, those celebrating Puffer’s project stayed to pick up postcards of Puffer’s artwork, drink beverages prepared by Café Tintamarre, and speak about the exhibit. In an interview with The Argosy, Professor Dino Koutras said “Jacob was a student of mine in art history courses, and I’ve always admired both his practice and his ideas about art.” Mt.A fine arts major Emma Neilson spoke about getting to know Puffer during an experiential learning trip in Fundy National Park, saying, “I really appreciate the quality of Jacob’s work. He’s so considerate, and he thinks so much about what he’s doing, materially and subject-matter wise.”
As part of Water To A Fish, Puffer also cast a concrete bench with a water motif. The concrete is still curing, but the bench will soon be added to the installation on the north side of the Trans-Canada Highway. Puffer describes the place in Waterfowl where his art now resides as a favourite “quasi-hidden” spot.