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Dead Ahead
statement All images on this website Alan Sirulnikoff MANITOBA DEER DEER ~ TEXADA ISLAND, BC, CANADA FROG ~ LAKE WINNIPEG, MANITOBA BLACKTAIL PRAIRIE DOG ~ CADILLAC, SASKATCHEWAN, CANADA CHIPMUNK ~ TORONTO, CANADA ATLIN SQUIRREL MOUSE ~ ROBERTS CREEK, BC, CANADA BADGER ~ FERLUND, SASKATCHEWAN, CANADA PORCUPINE ~ NIPIGON, ONTARIO, CANADA PORCUPINE 2 ~ NIPIGON, ONTARIO, CANADA RACCOON ~ EUGENE, OREGON, USA GREAT HORNED OWL ~ SHAUNAVON, SASKATCHEWAN, CANADA ROBIN ~ OSOYOOS, BC, CANADA CANADA GOOSE ~ UXBRIDGE, ONTARIO, CANADA GROUSE ~ N.W. WASHINGTON, USA SPARROW ~ LETHBRIDGE, ALBERTA, CANADA SQUIRREL ~ VANCOUVER, BC, CANADA SKUNK ~ STRATHMORE, ALBERTA, CANADA JACK RABBIT ~ MEDICINE HAT, ALBERTA, CANADA RABBIT ~ SUNSHINE COAST, BC, CANADA RED-SIDED GARTER SNAKE ~ MANITOBA, CANADA BEAR ~ FORT ST. JOHN, BC, CANADA MOOSE ~ SAULT STE. MARIE, ONTARIO, CANADA Deer Panel Raccoon Panel Squirrel Panel
Columbarium
statement
“A columbarium is a place for the respectful and usually public storage of cinerary urns (i.e. urns holding a deceased’s cremated remains). The term comes from the Latin columba (dove) and originally referred to compartmentalized housing for doves and pigeons.” Wikipedia. In my project, “Columbarium,” I have deepened the exploration first carried out in Dead Ahead by constructing a photo-based installation by combining both image and text to form a mausoleum of lost wildlife. The text has been gathered from interviews I conducted where people provided their personal accounts of wildlife collisions whether as a witness or a driver. Humans use cemeteries and columbaria as a place to honour and remember their dead. I would like to honour, remember and acknowledge the countless wild animals – large and small - that have died on our roads. The fact that the columbarium was originally used for housing doves and pigeons brings the connection full circle.
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At some point during one of my many car journeys I began photographing road killed wild animals that eventually became the series Dead Ahead. These photos - emphasizing the clash of industrial society and the natural world - have profoundly affected me. The images have allowed me to contemplate life and death, its unpredictability and ultimately my own mortality. I hope that the Dead Ahead series is viewed as a respectful acknowledgement and memorial to these wild animals that are often passed by and ignored. Whether people are repulsed, attracted or both, I hope these photos provoke reflection.
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