Tayu Hayward, Asulkan Pass, Glacier National Park, British Columbia, 2010.
Tayu Hayward: We Don't Live Here Anymore
July 27 鈥� November 23, 2011
Teck Gallery
鈥淲e can have wilderness without freedom; we can have wilderness without human life at all; but we cannot have freedom without wilderness.鈥� 鈥� Edward Abbe
Tayu Hayward鈥檚 exhibition We Don鈥檛 Live Here Anymore offers viewers images of a dozen places where they鈥檇 like to be 鈥� because those places have yet to be defiled by humanity鈥檚 handiwork. They are beautiful photographs and beautiful to look at, but that should not undermine their tacit environmental message, which is, to put it bluntly, 鈥淲hat have you done to protect the environment lately?鈥�
Hayward provides us with 鈥減rivileged access鈥� to these special sites that he has accessed by bicycle and on foot. Awe-inspiring landscape pictures may not be rare, but they are always special and have a long history of catalyzing positive change in their role as a key part of 鈥渧isual environmentalism鈥�.
Wilderness does offer a sense of freedom, but more importantly, it provides continuity with the history of the planet by locating us in the same 鈥減lace鈥� that was once occupied by our distant ancestors.
This is Vancouver-based photographer Tayu Hayward鈥檚 first exhibition.
Curated by Bill Jeffries.