The Triumph of Rural Electrification c. 1984 and I’ll Dance With Anyone She Said, Even the Devil, c.1984, both private collection, Halifax. Two early painted constructions probably shown at Eye Level Gallery, Halifax, c. 1984.

 

The Triumph of Rural Electrification is related to my Antigonish works. A small, mostly lost series. I spent a week at the Coady Institute of Saint Francis Xavier University c. 1984 in Antigonish researching the Antigonish Co-op Movement with a particular interest in Moses Coady and Jimmy Thompkins. This work tries to covey the optimism of the Antigonish Movement. It is composed from tarpaper, vinyl, yellow insulation material and burlap potato sack on wood.

I’ll Dance With Anyone She Said, Even the Devil Is related to an earlier body of work influenced by Helen Creighton’s Nova Scotian folklore books. The image is a rendering of a common folklore theme, that of a girl wishing to have a partner at the local dance, who then discovers the handsome young gentleman she meets is in fact the Devil. The story is always given away by the girl discovering the handsome young man has cloven feet. The setting is a lonely field in the Annapolis Valley. The work is constructed from carpet, vinyl and paint, on wood.

A Sure Sign of Prosperity in 2024 when Bruce Barber Photographs a Containership at Black Rock Beach, J, V and Morning versions, 2025

A Sure Sign of Prosperity in 2024 when Bruce Barber Photographs a Containership at Black Rock Beach, three versions, J version, 20 x 38 cms, oil paint and linoleum on vintage plywood. V version, 26 x 45 cms, oil paint on plywood, framed in a hand made frame constructed from a found vintage gold leaf Egyptian frame and Morning version, 21 x 41 cms. oil paint on vintage plywood. The works are based on a photograph of Black Rock Beach (2024) by Bruce Barber and is name checked from my, A Sure Sign of Prosperity in 1984 when the Giant Containership Atlantic Companion Calls on Halifax, 1984, private collection.

Black Rock Beach with Lightning, for Benjamin Chee Chee, 22 x 40 cms, oil paint on plywood

An evolution of the Bruce Barber/Black Rock beach set. It is a sort of homage to the artist Benjamin Chee Chee (1944-1977) who died in despair in the cells of the old Ottawa police station, where the Ottawa Art Gallery now stands.

 

Sambro Fog Cannon, 27 x 32 cms, oil sketch on plywood in hand painted vintage frame

The Sambro fog cannon is mentioned in a 19th century navigation guide to the Nova Scotia coast.

 

The Hurricane Fiona set, four works, 2025

 

The Hurricane Fiona set. 

1) Fiona Over Water, 58 x 58 cms, oil painting on plywood, 2) Fiona Sable Island 1, 31 x 34 cms, painted construction, oil paint and metal on plywood, 3) Fiona Sable Island 2, 31 x 34 cms, painted construction, oil paint and metal on plywood, 4) Fiona Sable Island 3, 31 x 34 cms painted construction, oil paint, metal, screen mesh and roofing shingle on plywood.

The Forks, 98/24. 2024, subscribed "The Grid", 32" x 38", mixed media work on plywood

The Forks is the final work in both the overhead view and Railway Lands sequences. The first overhead view works were done in Montreal c. 1989 and Railway Lands began when I was an artist in residence at Struts Artist Run in Sackville, New Brunswick in 1998. The picture represents the sacred place they call the Forks in Winnipeg. The place is called Niizhoziibean in Ojibwe. It means the two rivers. I chose this place for the last Railway Lands work, because a railway line runs through it. 

Eric Walker CV

 

 

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