Projects
2017 · Columbia Lake Recreation Centre
Akisq’nuk First Nation, British Columbia
Family Between Lakes began with an invitation to share photographs.
In the days leading up to the mural, community members brought family albums, newspaper clippings and images kept in drawers for decades. Around tables in a small room beside the recreation centre, photographs passed between hands and stories began to surface.
Loved ones long gone. Childhood friendships. Moments of pride, grief and humour.
We scanned and documented the images. Some had not been seen in years; others prompted recollections that reached well beyond what the photograph itself could show.
The mural began taking shape in that room.
Over twelve intensive days, I painted from the photographs and stories people had entrusted to the project.
Historical and contemporary community members appear alongside local wildlife, athletic achievements, cultural narratives and the surrounding landscape. My work was to bring these contributions into a composition where they could remain distinct while finding connections with one another.
At its centre stands a tree, its roots and branches extending throughout the painting. Hidden within the trunk is the word Family. Around its base, a beaded band carries the words Between Lakes.
The title draws from Akisq’nuk, commonly translated as “land between two lakes.”
Family Between Lakes brought that relationship with place into the gathering of people across the wall. The tree connects generations, with those living today appearing alongside people remembered through photographs and stories.
The images came from different times and different households. Here, they could be seen together.
Throughout production, people returned to follow the painting.
Elders recognized themselves and friends from earlier decades. Children searched for parents and grandparents. As faces became visible, more stories emerged around the wall.
Those moments of recognition were an important part of the work. People could follow how something they had brought from home was becoming part of a shared public space.
I had twelve days to paint. The photographs held generations.
What people shared in that small room gave the mural its shape. The conversations continued outside, as they found one another on the wall.
© Jason Botkin