Meanwhile, 11-hours in the future and halfway around the world (which is really just a startling 20,000 km) we find ourselves in Moscow beginning construction on a second edition of CLOUD.
On the way here, we spent two all-nighters on airplanes, entertaining ourselves with new-age Disney movies and watching the clouds passing by (lazily) below. Jet lag is a funny phenomenon – it seems to reinforce the un-reality of things. Here we are, two Canadian artists, really just at the entry point of our careers, invited to Russia to build a giant sculpture, funded completely by the gallery. Incapable of sleep on the way here, I spent almost an hour considering this: is it by sheer luck that we’ve found ourselves in this position? Were we just building the right sculpture at the right time? Or is The End of the World (mere days away) just baiting us with potential before the entire planet is overtaken by zombies and consequently explodes into a firey inferno of action-movie-inspired hero montages.
One thing’s certain, though. We’re lucky. Lucky because CLOUD wasn’t just us – it was a thrilling community of Calgary-based artists and volunteers. It was funded locally through some of the best Arts groups in Calgary: Alberta College of Art + Design, The Nuit Blanche Foundation, The City of Calgary, Calgary Arts Development Authority, Calgary Public Arts, Calgary 2012, and The Awesome Foundation (Calgary chapter). It was supported whole-heartedly by our community, our families, our pals, and now that we’re away from Calgary and all of our Calgary-based support systems, we have a responsibility to do that community proud.
So here’s to you, Calgary, and the awesome projects that you make happen! For Wayne and me, the next few weeks are going to be difficult – hard work, scrambling to find materials with are not so standard outside of North America, and building a giant sculpture in 3 weeks – but this is the most exciting adventure and amazing opportunity ever. Thanks again to our amazing team that made CLOUD #1 a possibility. And Hello Russia!
