Continental Drift is a single-channel video installation that explores the concept of geological time and how it is recorded within the earth’s surface. Using 16mm footage of multiple locations in the Alberta Badlands, Continental Drift documents its unique rock formations, which are in a constant state of change.
Over millions of years, the Alberta Badlands have been a sea, a tropical forest and a massive ice field. Each of these eras is inscribed as layers of stone. Glaciers carved out the landscape, exposing coal and the remains of dinosaurs.
The Alberta Badlands are located on the traditional territory of the Blackfoot Confederacy (Siksika Nation, Kainai Nation-Blood Tribe, and Piikani Nation), Stoney-Nakoda Nation, and Tsuut’ina Nation peoples. The area has been the site of immense resource extraction. Coal mining was a prominent industry in the 1930s and 40s. The area is eroding at a rapid rate and exists as a reminder of the impermanence of landscapes and natural resources.
Essay
Staying with and in the displacement: erosion, porosity, and (im)permanence in Continental Drift
Artist Bio
Eva Kolcze
Eva Kolcze is a Toronto-based artist who creates films and installations that investigate themes of landscape, architecture, and the body. Her work has screened at venues and festivals including the National Gallery of Canada, Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (MAC), MOCA Toronto, the Gardiner Museum, Nuit Blanche, Cinémathèque québécoise, Birch Contemporary, and the Images Festival. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from OCAD University and a Master of Fine Arts from York University.