Trail of Hope (2020)

Trail of Hope juxtaposes my experience, my hope of finding a place to call home, of belonging, and the hope encountered through religious ‘advertisements.’ The work documents a cross-country road trip and move in 2019 from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, through the U.S., and ending in Vancouver, BC. This work captures the provinces and states traversed as well as religious signage encountered along the way. Some of these messages were plastered on bill boards along highways while others were displayed on signage just outside churches. I am struck by the need to communicate and to draw in; the humour (perhaps unintentional) and creativity; and the appearance of some of this signage on desolate highways. Having lived in Canada since I was 16, these communiqués about religion and devotion, feel like I’m encountering a very different culture.