RIVER VOICES

This is a proposal for the Forks River Trail in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Winnipeggers have a complex relationship with the river. Often, it is a source of great pleasure and recreation, while at other times, it is a cause of anxiety and destruction. In reaction, people seek to control and temper the river to their own ends rather than acknowledging it as a living force that plays a part in the past, present, and future histories of place. What wisdom, stories, and secrets would the river offer up if given a chance? 

This project seeks to give the river a voice through the poetry of local writers during the quiet of winter. We propose to print an ephemeral guide on the landscape, asking participants to reconsider their environment through the lens of the text - to see the familiar in a new light. The poetry flows along the surface, as water flows underneath, and seduces skaters, walkers, and skiers to explore just a little bit farther. Three separate poems, each stretching the length of the trail, will be penned by local writers (to be chosen), addressing notions of past, present, and future narratives that explore our relationship with the river; as each fades into the ice, the next will be layered overtop.  These geographically-sited texts will be intimately connected with and embedded in the landscape, offering an immersive and visceral way to connect with place.

The printing device draws inspiration from existing prairie and winter machinery.  Pairs of people pull the apparatus along the ice in a linear fashion, similar to a primitive plough.  Operators are kept warm by a heated handlebar, as well as by generating their own heat through movement.  

The act of mark making on the ice draws parallels to many Canadian winter pastimes, including hockey and curling. Ink is deposited on the ice via spray nozzles connected to a processor that is programmed with the text to be printed; the deposition of the ink is coordinated with the rotation of the wheels as the device travels along the trail.