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Heart Garden, 2015

Digital Print

Taking inspiration from the Heart Gardens that were planted across Canada during the TRC Closing Ceremonies, RISE invited community members in Edmonton to create their own hearts to plant. The hearts include messages to residential school survivors and commitments to reconciliation in words and imagery, made by people of all ages and backgrounds. Over 1200 hearts were then planted in various public spaces in Edmonton to create a mobile garden of reflection and hope.

After the hearts toughed it out through weather and foot-traffic for weeks, we decided to document them to continue their message. Some of the hearts that were made were either destroyed or went missing. These are signified by the empty squares in the grid. However, these empty spaces also suggest room for growth, an invitation for the viewer's own thoughts of hope. Some of the hearts that were once painted with bright colours are faded, streaked, or even broken from weather conditions, but their message stays.

This is what reconciliation looks like.