One of my supervisors in Toronto said I should talk to this girl who is doing her MFA thesis on Chinese Westerns in Alberta. As someone budding to be an expert in the representation of rural communities in Western Canada I thought, ‘brilliant!’ This was Elyse Bouvier, a Calgary photographer who ended up exploring, in great detail,
One of my supervisors in Toronto said I should talk to this girl who is doing her MFA thesis on Chinese Westerns in Alberta. As someone budding to be an expert in the representation of rural communities in Western Canada I thought, ‘brilliant!’ This was Elyse Bouvier, a Calgary photographer who ended up exploring, in great detail, the very essence of rural food culture. Since then I’ve photographed, exhibited, and collaborated with Elyse, we are currently working on a project that looks at interesting and alternative gems in Alberta. We’ve had many conversations on food, culture, photography representation and identity in Western Canada. She was also part of the Imaginations special edition I co-edited where she collaborated with Dr. Lilly Cho on a piece called Recalibrating Intimacy. Note: The below conversation took place late one night over distant bourbons in Calgary, Ab and Mundare, Ab. For many communities in Western Canada it is hard to bridge the gap of distance.
