48" x 11" x 10"
Steel
Artist Statement: "I have been using that very Canadian iconic object--the chainsaw, in my artwork for many years now, ever since the day I was bucking firewood and noticed that its case had a resemblance to a raven head.
Used skillfully, selectively and with moderation the chainsaw can be a tool used for good but used unchecked for profit it has the potential to clearcut not only large swaths of landscape/creature habitat but human culture as well.
I like to play with repurposing and re-contextualizing objects so that they make commentary on themselves; obviously I see relevancy, poignancy and likely some irony in reusing the chainsaw to recreate--in this case turning a potentially destructive tool into a sculpture that embodies and resembles nature, hence making it symbolic of that which we might lose through its use.
Renew Saw, I see as a potentially optimistic piece. Referencing Jung’s “Enantiodromia” which stated that if you push something to its extreme, it can become its opposite. Placing a forest upon the chainsaw bar provides a mantle for a hopeful vision of future to regain what has been lost."
