Luminato Festival, Toronto - The Encampment

From June 8 to June 24 as part of the Luminato festival, there will be a collabo-installation made by my aunt, Jean Boulby, myself and my brother Neil McIntyre at Fort York in Toronto. It's called The Encampment and features 200 tents commemorating the histories of civilians in and around the time the war of 1812. We have chosen to focus on Josiah Henson born June 15, 1789 – May 5, 1883, an escaped African-American slave, whose amazing story was published in 1949 The Life of Josiah Henson, Formerly a Slave, Now an Inhabitant of Canada, as Narrated by Himself and was the inspiration for Harriet Beecher Stowe's seminal novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin published in 1852. In response to reading his biography I have carved a wooden portrait to be clothed by my aunt, who has done extensive research and also constructed a story laden quilt. My brother and I will also construct a sound element to go with the sculpture.

Atlanta Beach, Florida (a.k.a Southern Georgia)

Mmmmmmmmm the ocean. Coincidentally I took Zora Neale Hurston's book " Their eyes were watching God", which is set in Florida. Hurston actually investigated the same plantation she had researched, The Kingsley Plantation.