On Toronto’s Water – A Guest Post by Toni Skokovic
Toronto’s lakeshore and ravines hide endless possibilities for recreation and enjoyment of nature’s beauty. Ancient waterways and trading routes, Toronto’s waters are now a stage to an ever evolving landscape, shifting under and shaping the cycles of urban development and conservation efforts. In this process, we are left with landscapes, grand and intimate, in the midst of our largest urban community.
Ever since the first time I experienced the surprising beauty of sunrises along Sunnyside beach or Humber Bay, I had a desire to capture that all-stopping emotion. On Toronto’s Water exhibit is a part of my attempt to better define this natural artwork within our reach. We are accustomed to seeing our city’s park through generic recreational documentation or as a part of our historical archives. If we stop, however, and take a deeper look we discover an offering of deeper meaning and stronger emotion. The natural artistry of the here and now, a daily magic show of light, clouds and water.
Considering our parks as works of art in and of themselves, shoreline designed, made stunning with morning skies and our waterways. The beauty borne out of a complicated and not always harmonious relationship we’ve had with our rivers and lakes. Most of the coastline has been changed, impacted by generations of settlers and evolutions of our city’s economy. As we fought to harness and control nature, then rushed to save it from ourselves, a system of parks and trails emerged.
It is easy and tempting to rush through all of the parks and trails. In the end, the possibilities are endless. But this trap prevents us to discover hidden gems – stunning sunrises at Humber Bay, silence and power of vibrant spring flow along the Etobicoke Creek ravine or the weight and power of Humber River, that ancient and angry water. Sometimes, slowing down and taking a deeper look brings us farther, relaxes us at a deeper level, recharges the batteries.
Quite often, we feel a need to get away, travel long and far to enjoy nature. We often believe nature must be untouched, mysterious and distant. To get a great landscape, we need to undertake an epic trip. Toronto’s Water challenges that traditional view. Stunning grand landscapes and intimate natural tranquility, all of it available to all of us, within 10 minutes from where we live and work. Most of our waterways modified with decades and centuries of development, impacted but still keeping their natural character, is the escape we can always use – on a daily basis.
Living in Toronto, we are never at rest. The views from our waters compel us, as if to help us rest and persist in the hectic pace of our modern times. Our parks and waters, the source of energy and life, an endless stream of visual inspiration. The exhibit, On Toronto’s Water, is a reminder of what is available to us a short walk from home.
Come out to see the exhibit on display May 1st to May 31st at Coolearth Architecture, 386 Pacific Avenue, to discover the natural beauty that is a walking distance from home.
I would like to thank Coolearth, The Junction BIA and Scotiabank Contact festival for selecting some of my photographic work for the upcoming Photography in the Junction exhibit.
Also check out Toni’s site: http://junctionrails.ca/ and http://junctionrails.ca/contact-2016-photography-in-the-junction/