Unity Island (2023)

2023, 3-channel 16mm film to digital projection, 12:50 loop, stereo sound, dimensions variable

Unity Island looks at 1/4 square mile stretch of land situated between Niagara River and Black Rock Canal at the border of Buffalo, NY and Fort Erie, Ontario. A railroad traverses the island from Canada to the U.S. passing by a park visited by picnickers, bicyclists, and fishermen. I’ve been going there for walks with our dog for years.

Freight trains cross a swing bridge over the canal which rotates open for boats and the occasional freight ship. A hill sits on the former site of an incineration plant and garbage dump. From there you can get a 360° view of the island, the city, the river, and the highway.

Shot on 16mm film, this three-screen installation is a personal exploration of the site over time in an attempt to reveal its beauty, its moments, and its contradictions.

Technical requirements:
3 x 1920 x 1080 projectors (or better)
3 x synch-able USB media players
Stereo audio speakers

Also available as in a composited single-channel version.

Press
Catalog essay by Buffalo Arts Studio Director of Visual Arts Shirley Verrico (pdf).
Review in the University at Buffalo Spectrum newspaper (website) | (pdf)
Brief artist talk and thank you at the opening (youtube).
A “visual highlight” of the BAS opening created by Aitina Fareed-Cooke and Get Fokus’d Productions (Creative Media Arts Company) (youtube).
Press release (pdf).

Buffalo Arts Studio exhibition credits: Many thanks to Buffalo Arts Studio Director of Visual Arts, Shirley Verrico, and BAS’s staff including Alma Carillo, Lauren McLaughlin, Sydney O’Shei, and Aitina Fareed-Cooke. Special thanks to Gareth Lichty for the install. Additional thanks to Yola Monakhov Stockton and Bob Collignon at the Buffalo State University Art & Design Department for their technical support with film development; and to the University at Buffalo Department of Media Study for additional resource support. Unity Island was also made possible with a 2023 “Support for Artists” grant by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. Additional help: Dorothea Braemer and Greta Lee (sound recording); Solon Morse for a flora and fauna tour of the island.