Louis-Bernard St-Jean
2013
Walnut oil on canvas
Diptych, 20" x 32" x 1"  (51 x 81 x 2.5 cm) 
 

A bird’s eye view representation of Western Canada‘s bituminous sand mining landscapes. This artwork attempts to evoke the paradox found in the stunning beauty of these desolate open-pit mines and the full extent of the land’s devastation at the expense of boreal forests.

Through its thick curvy lines, the diptych’s halves represent the conflict between the emotional and the rational: from the idea of a necessary destruction paving the way towards further profitability and advancement to the importance of finding a balance between both to accomplish.