Leyang Guo

DANGER, Water Has Been Contaminated

The water crisis in indigenous communities is a historical issue leftover from colonialism and environmental racism, and most of the reasons are caused by the direct or indirect pollution of water sources by various multinational corporations and the Canadian government. My artwork theme was inspired by one of the most famous examples of factories polluting water, which is the Dryden paper mill discharge of toxic mercury into the Wabigoon River between 1965 to 1970 resulted in the contamination of drinking water sources for Grassy Narrows First Nation. This incident reflects the impact of discriminatory policies and actions from environmental racism on the water, air, land, and species of Indigenous communities, which is endanger the environment and health of their communities.My artwork Dangerous, water has been contaminated is a combination of installation art and graphic design, which directly and clearly shows the water crisis and water pollution problems of indigenous communities to the viewer, so that more people can pay attention to those problems. At the same time, my work complements Ruth Cuthand’s installation Don't Breathe, Don't Drink on waterborne disease impacting Indigenous peoples, as water pollution is also one of the reasons why their communities have long-term boiling water advisories and their health at risk. As she described the importance of her installation art to AGO, “How can we sell our water to other countries, when we can’t provide clean drinking water to our own citizens?” (Cuthand) I was inspired by this quote from her to design and make installation art about the water crisis in the indigenous community to raise awareness because it's not just a problem for their communities, it's about all Canadian residents.My installation art consists of materials such as label designs, bottled water, paraffin wax, wooden sticks, and wire. The label design and bottled water in the artwork symbolize the water from the Wabigoon River, which satirized the polluted water that was "produced and sold" by the Dryden paper mill. And the river below, made of paraffin wax, flowing from the bottled and reflects the water that was supposed to symbolize life, but now replaced by things in the chemical plant, turned into strange and unhealthy colours. Finally, the barbed wire made of wooden sticks and wire unifies the disparate objects in the installation. It is implied that under the influence of colonialism history, the body and spirit of the indigenous people were imprisoned in their reserved areas, and it was difficult for their appeals and voices to spread from it. Today, Indigenous communities and other communities in Canada are like two worlds, with pollution and darkness inside the barbed wire, clean and white outside.

“During the years of studying in Canada, the multicultural environment has allowed me to gradually understand and learn the knowledge of different races, especially the history and culture of the indigenous people made me more interested in them. As the number of immigrants in Canada has grown, more and more people are no longer paying attention to the history of indigenous people and their current living conditions. In this context, I found that the community of indigenous people (Basically, it is the place of reserves) gradually began to have many problems, such as water crisis, waste pollution, and land occupation. My artwork takes a critical view of colonialism and environmental racism, and through a variety of materials and processes, the viewer can understand the water crisis and water pollution problems still faced by Canadian indigenous communities today.”