Work in Progress
The Snow Globe views Canada's Parliament from inside the "Ottawa Bubble" — that insular world of politicians and bureaucrats whose perspective on a vast country can be distorted by life in the Capital. Shot with medium format digital camera and flash, the project illuminates corners of the House of Commons.
Just like the snow globe, Canada and its Parliament are Victorian creations, born when the young Dominion faced threats on its southern border. Defensively, Canada adopted British Empire traditions and models. Parliament, again like a snow globe, presents an iconic image: momentarily alive when shaken, then settling back into static prettiness.
Inside, vestigial traditions and furnishings show wear, no longer suitable for governing a G7 country. Nineteenth-century governance — never especially democratic — has given way to even greater concentration of power in party leaders' hands, particularly the Prime Minister's. And Canadians, lulled by Parliament's controlled peep-hole video feed, think all is well as they reach for the TV remote. Few realise how little MPs are able to represent them or their views.
And while the view into Parliament remains narrow — "like looking through a straw," journalist Andrew Coyne says — the view outward continues to expand through video surveillance.
