Rolling Thunder (2013)

In relation to other riots and protests that were happening around the world, from Greece, Iceland, and London, to the Arab Spring, the Vancouver riot was an absurd response of violence and destruction to the results of a simple hockey game. A few individuals, with the specific intent to loot and vandalize, influenced a massive group of people within the anonymity of the mob, to participate in violent acts. Businesses were vandalized and bystanders were assaulted, but the greatest casualties of the riots were vehicles. A 2012 report, released by the Vancouver Police Department, indicated that 122 vehicles were smashed, turned over and set ablaze as the riot swarmed its way through a few city blocks, leaving a series of smouldering monuments in its wake. Using the spectacle and consequences of group conformity as its subject, Rolling Thunder includes work that pays tribute to the twisted and scorched carcasses of vehicles that were the primary product of this mob.

Acknowledgements:
The footage included in the exhibition was generously provided by the Vancouver CBC Archives, with special thanks to Colin Preston.

Soundtrack by Krista Loewen and Stephen O'Shea.

Stills from HD video, colour, silent, 18'30"

Installation views at Interurban Gallery, 2013