The “Connecting Currents” show runs until April 26 at Cline House Gallery where works by Christine Fitzgerald, Stephany Hildebrand, and Victoria E. Ransom are featured. The exhibit, inspired by the Great River Rapport, explores the ecological and cultural significance of Kaniatarowanenneh, the St. Lawrence River.
At a recent reception, Fitzgerald, an award-winning Ottawa-based artist, showcased Blue Impressions, a large-scale photo collage created with community participation. “I’ve been working along the St. Lawrence for years, creating art that highlights vulnerable places and species. In 2021, I spent time in Cornwall working with the River Institute on a project about fish, which led to the Blue Impressions piece in this exhibit,” she said.
The mural was created using a cameraless photography technique. “We used specimens from the River Institute, placing them on paper with a light-sensitive emulsion, then developing the images using water from the St. Lawrence. About 60 community members helped create this piece, making it truly a collective effort,” Fitzgerald explained. She added that her work “combines 19th-century photographic techniques with modern digital technology. It’s not traditional photography — it’s a fusion of history and innovation that creates a unique visual experience.”
Hildebrand, a field technician with the River Institute and an underwater photographer, contributed images taken just off Cornwall’s shoreline. “This exhibit grew out of Christine Fitzgerald’s collaboration with the River Institute and the Great River Rapport, which is an ecosystem health report on the St. Lawrence River. It asks the question: ‘What is the health of the river?’ and helps to answer it through science and community engagement,” she said.
Her four photographs highlight the unseen beauty of the river. “I wanted to immerse people in the beauty of the St. Lawrence and show them a perspective they might not usually see,” Hildebrand added.
Also featured was Quiet Thunder, a soundscape by scientist-musician Jerome Marty and his team.
“We’re a small group of friends and scientists who work with sound. For this exhibit, we contributed Quiet Thunder, a piece created using eight years of recorded data, underwater sounds of fish, ice, and waves, blended with musical instruments like banjo, guitar, and accordion,” he said.
“The name Quiet Thunder was inspired by Karen Bakker’s book about how sound helps us better understand nature. That’s exactly what we wanted to do with this piece — bring the hidden sounds of the river to life,” Marty explained.
