Disappearing, softly

Abstract

Culture and tradition spring directly from the land that supports, challenges, and enlivens its inhabitants; the land shapes its peoples, and we shape the land. On, in, and throughout the island of Newfoundland, a force that is as distinctive to the landscapes being tested, are the unrelenting North Atlantic winds. In Michael Cook’s description of the inspiration behind the work of fabled Newfoundland artist Gerry Squires, he perfectly captures this sentiment in his statement that, “The wind-wrecked heavens is what informs and molds us” (Cooke 1993, 12). In the work, Disappearing softly, this invisible, but not imperceptible, force of the wind was channeled to play the role of the artist, thus giving voice to the formative force of this land.