Sign(nature)

Site specific installation in Tucson, AZ

2014

Natasha S. Reid, 2014

When I moved from Montreal to Tucson in 2013, I felt a sense of being in between geopolitical locations, geographical landscapes, languages, and cultures. I became fascinated with the differences between the streetscapes of these places, including the tiles that adorn many buildings in Tucson. With a desire to connect with this tile tradition and to create new relationships with Tucson’s streets and the people living there, I developed a participatory place-based art project. I created a tile diptych (with the very generous assistance of Elizabeth Garber and Roy Pearson). The top component mimics street signs in Paris, a place I have a deep connection to and also directly relates to Quebec’s history. The word “Street” was written into the ceramic in English, French, Spanish, and Ukrainian (connecting with my mother’s heritage). The bottom tile was treated with a high-gloss glaze, which could be written on with erasable markers. Taking my work into the public sphere, I asked people to rename streets in the area where I lived by writing on my ceramic artwork with erasable markers. With this, we engaged in relationship-building processes—sharing stories, drinking tea, and exploring tiles in the community together.

Natasha S. Reid, 2014