Badanna Zack's sculptural installation On The Shield, references the era of early settlement in the Muskoka area. And here Zack reconstructs the human histories emanating from the site. On the Shield, a domestic structure fabricated from contemporary building materials is introduced into the site, and the incorporation of large boulders found on site, attest to the geological age of the area. On The Shield, a re-imaging of a time when humans and nature co-habited in harmony. Returning to The Tree Museum has given me a voice to express my concerns about the environment, in particular the clear cutting of old growth forests, from Vancouver to Brazil. We cannot return to the past and a simpler time, but we must learn to take care of Planet Earth. BZ
Zack's work is characterized by its large size, scale, and her use of recycled and found materials, from: newspapers, discarded cardboard, pop cans and old junk cars, that she uses used to construct her objects and installations. In 1998, Zack was invited to participate in The Tree Museum's inaugural exhibition. Working with the discarded vehicles found on site Zack created the installation, A Mound Of Cars, a monument to our insidious inability to deal with the remnants of our acquisitive society. Zack's work is also rooted in an awareness of conflict and the contradictions of our time. Her work consistently contains allusions to current topics and her new work at the Tree Museum, On the Shield, testifies to Zack's constant concern with the present. The strength of her work lies in her commitment to humankind and planet earth and her continuing efforts to restore the broken connection between the two.