Mark Mushet, a photographer and video producer, recently worked with EVENT contributor Christina Shah to create a visual accompaniment to her poem, “Rig Veda” – initially published in EVENT 49/3. Explore the results of this collaboration above.
‘Rig Veda’ explores the shift in the urban landscape along the Fraser River delta (Vancouver, Canada) from a surprising perspective– up close and personal with the people and the massive earthmoving equipment involved in its transformation. This area is transitioning from farmland and working river dotted with log booms and sawmills to a modern waterway studded with concrete and glass condos and light industrial business parks.
“I work in heavy industry– and have great appreciation for the sheer size and power of the big rigs, for the energy and generosity of the people I’ve worked with, and for the skill it takes to do deep foundation drilling. I wanted to portray the humanity and pride of the contractors and construction workers who build these projects. At the same time, I feel some ambivalence as I observe the rapidly densifying landscape (and attendant traffic) in the neighbourhood I call home– one that used to have vacant tracts of land rife with fireweed and blackberry canes, and where I have spotted coyotes trotting along the train tracks at dusk.’”
Christina Shah was born in Ottawa, lives in Vancouver, and works in heavy industry. Her poetry has also appeared in The Fiddlehead, Vallum, Arc, Grain, and PRISM international, with work forthcoming in The Antigonish Review and The Malahat Review. Brace yourselves for her first full-length collection, if: prey, then: huntress.
Mark Mushet is a photographer, video producer and the creative director of Vancouver Review Media, an online publication featuring videos of interest to British Columbia’s arts and cultural community.
