Making Camp, coloured pencil on paper, 30 x 15 Inches, 2020
The tradition of recreational family camping gained widespread popularity in North America following World War II, as middle-class families experienced increased leisure time and access to personal vehicles. The first campsites were large treeless clearings where tourists could gather and spend the night with the promise of nearby sightseeing amidst distinct wilderness surroundings. With the emergence of widespread networks of private and public campgrounds across the continent, campers began to select campsites based on the range of available services, rather than the unique characteristics of the surrounding landscape. This drawing presents viewers with a familiar sight: a rustic picnic table topped by a rather nostalgic portable TV, a sparkling campfire and a comfy mattress set up beneath the night’s sky. Yet the wood bases attached to the trunks of the surrounding trees reveal the landscape as artificial. Set against the backdrop of a stark black void, this scene represents an act of ritual. It invites viewers to consider camping as a place-less experience, in which the imagined ideal of camping has become more important than the location itself.