self-healing concrete
weathering research painting history
sheila ayearst
part 1
I am a visual artist who has been creating images of concrete since 1980. Here is the history of my obsession. Highway 401 in Ontario, Canada, runs 828 kms from the Quebec border in the east to Windsor, Ontario and the American border in the west. I have always loved super highways: the long curves; the perfect single point perspective of the lines; the landscape of the verges; the palette of grey, white, black, and a hit of yellow; the architectural power and mathematical simplicity of the overpasses, bridge supports and barriers. This human- made stone promised permanence for itself and security and efficiency for its users. But by 1989 the concrete of the 401 was already starting to crumble and then several women’s bodies were found dumped in the verge areas of the highway. My series of paintings, The 401 Towards London, 1990-1992 , were paintings of my photographs taken at the site of Jack Chambers’ iconic 1969 work, 401 Towards London , which was also the site of the 1990 abduction and murder of student, Lynda Shaw. They were painted the same size as Chambers’ work but in the format of my panoramic camera and were a response to both the beauty of the Modern but with awareness of how the Modern does not assure protection. This series was followed by another, Ruins and Monuments, 1997-2001 , which depicted fictional human touristing activities, in the manner of eighteenth and nineteenth century European Grand Tour paintings, at actual sites of construction or of tragedy along the 401.
The 401 Towards London: Overpass , 1990. Acrylic and oil on canvas, 183 x 244 cm.
The 401 Towards London: View , 1991. Acrylic and oil on canvas, 183 x 244 cm.
all images: Sheila Ayearst
Landscape with Ruin and Tourists , 1997. Acrylic and oil on canvas, 122 x 305 cm.
4 on site review 48 :: building materials
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