The ruins of the polar bear pit of Downs' Zoological Gardens, documented in Halifax, Spring 2015.
The Cartographical Situation of Downs Zoological Gardens, Watercolor and gouache on paper, 22" x 23", gouache on paper, 2016
Portrait of Andrew Downs, world-renowned naturalist and proprietor of Downs’ Zoological Gardens (1811— 1892), pencil and gouache on paper, 22" x 33", 2016
Diorama of the Gardens; a reconstruction of Downs' Zoological Gardens, hand-coloured and cut etchings, coloured pencil drawings, and birch base. 14 feet long, 2016. Installed at the Owens Art Gallery, Sackville, NB
This diorama is based on written accounts of Andrew Downs' Zoological Gardens, visits to historic zoos that Downs researched, and hours spent on site at the former grounds, as they appear today.
Diorama of the Gardens; a reconstruction of Downs' Zoological Gardens, detail, hand-coloured and cut etchings, coloured pencil drawings, and birch base. 14 feet long, 2016. Installed at the Owens Art Gallery, Sackville, NB
Diorama of the Gardens; a reconstruction of Downs' Zoological Gardens, detail, hand-coloured and cut etchings, coloured pencil drawings, and birch base. 14 feet long, 2016. Installed at the Owens Art Gallery, Sackville, NB
Diorama of the Gardens; a reconstruction of Downs' Zoological Gardens, detail, hand-coloured and cut etchings, coloured pencil drawings, and birch base. 14 feet long, 2016. Installed at the Owens Art Gallery, Sackville, NB
Diorama of the Gardens; a reconstruction of Downs' Zoological Gardens, detail, hand-coloured and cut etchings, coloured pencil drawings, and birch base. 14 feet long, 2016. Installed at the Owens Art Gallery, Sackville, NB
The Memorialist Installation at the Owens Art Gallery, Sackville NB, November— December 2016
Hand-coloured and cut etchings, coloured pencil drawings, and birch base. 14 feet long, 2016. Installed at Dalhousie Art Gallery, 2019
White glove dropped by The Prince of Wales during his visit to the gardens in 1860. Retrieved by Andrew Downs, the glove was displayed inside the Glass House until the zoo closed in 1868. (Collection of the Nova Scotia Museum)
Stone monument (adorned with flowers) erected in the 1950's, marking the original entrance to Downs' Zoological Gardens on Joseph Howe Drive, Halifax, NS.
Video still (The Dodo Manege Carousel is located in the Jardin des Plantes et Animeaux in Paris. It was created by Jean Jaques Haurel, a retired wildlife photographer. All the animals represented on the carousel are either endangered or extinct.), 2016
coloured pencil and pencil on paper, 7" x 3.5", 2015
The Glass House, The only photograph known to exist of Downs’ Zoological Gardens. The proprietor himself perches in front of the Glass House (the zoo’s aviary) in the 1860's.
(Presented with permission from the Nova Scotia Provincial Archives)
video documentation still of performance at Connexion ARC, Fredericton NB, March 2018. (Documentation by Ian Curtis Miller)
A selection of short clips from a longer video intended for gallery installation. Visit https://vimeo.com/205831169 for more information.
Installation at Dalhousie University Art Gallery, January - April 2019
Installation at Dalhousie University Art Gallery, 2019