Jeff Downer: Gol Nu Get Mote
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Fort Gallery 9048 Glover Road, PO Box 685, Fort Langley, British Columbia V1M 2S1
Photo by Jeff Downer, Design by Konrad Breuers
Jeff Downer, "Alexandria Bridge,” 2019
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The Fort Gallery is pleased to present a talk by former host of CBC Radio’s BC Almanac Mark Forsythe, inspired by connections between his book The Trail of 1858 and our current exhibition Gol Nu Get Mote. The talk will be held at the Fort Gallery, Friday, February 7th at 7pm. Both Mark Forsythe and exhibiting artist Jeff Downer will be present for this deep dive into some of the history surrounding the Fraser River.
The Trail of 1858, coauthored by Greg Dickson, combines historical research with contributions from CBC listeners, in order to celebrate a number of the colourful personalities from this period in BC’s history.
Mark Forsythe landed his first radio job at CFBV Smithers in 1974. He later joined CBC Radio at Prince Rupert in 1984, moved to Kelowna to help establish a new CBC bureau and joined CBC Vancouver in 1989, hosting CBC Radio current affairs programs, including B.C. Almanac for 18 years. Mark co-authored four books with listeners about B.C. history, culture and recreation. He taught Writing for the Media at BCIT for ten years and retired from CBC in 2015. Mark lives in historic Fort Langley where he volunteers with the Langley Heritage Society, and is a council member with the B.C. Historical Federation.
The Fort Gallery is pleased to present Gol Nu Get Mote, an exhibition by Vancouver-based photographer Jeff Downer. It is the first of a series of four exhibitions that explore the social, cultural, and environmental significance of the Fraser River and the gallery’s location on its shores.
Downer’s project took him on a journey along the length of the Fraser from the Lower Mainland to Boston Bar to document the communities that line its shores. The cryptic exhibition title Gol Nu Get Mote refers to a dilapidated sign that graces the facade of the Gold Nugget Motel in Yale, BC. Signs of decay and the passage of time mar the familiar landmarks in Downer’s photographs. These images draw attention to the moments of strangeness and dissonance that arise at the intersection of colonization, industry, frontier mythologies and contemporary tourism.
The quiet landscapes he photographs are often devoid of people but resonate with human presence in the form of power lines, abandoned industrial sites, tourist attractions and eccentric small town businesses. His photographs draw attention to the dashed hopes of early frontier mythologies of limitless resources and question the legacies that we are leaving in the rapidly developing Fraser River Valley.
Downer will lead a workshop in alternative DIY photographic print processes at the gallery February 9, 12-5pm, see fortgallery.ca for registration information. All are welcome to attend these events.