Date Range

2015

Description Level

Series

Creator

Rick Gillis

Physical Description

37 digital photographs

History Biographical

Some time, in the years before the great flood of 1995 a small group of (presumed) Lethbridge university students, who to this day chose to remain unnamed, began work on a structure located on a small island in the Oldman River, directly below the university. The edifice, which they christened Rust Rock Cathedral, was fashioned—at least in its early formative years—from trash and other materials gathered from the river bottom itself. In the years since, others have added to the structure, which now stands like a fortress of detritus, over twelve feet tall, in the middle of a dense aspen grove. A hiking/cycling path skirts right past it, but the structure itself remains camouflaged by trees from thirty or so feet away. As you round a small bend in the path, it is suddenly thrown up in front of you, a misshapen, misplaced bizarre monument. Depending upon personal disposition, Rust Rock Cathedral means different things to different people. To some it is little more than a stack of rubble requiring removal, to others it is a unique artistic expression, and to still others it is an occult shrine to be evaded and feared. One of the most peculiar features of Rust Rock—alternately known as “The Thing”—is the collection of dozens of dolls which passers-by have borne there over the years and placed securely amidst its rough construct. They are a macabre collection which, in this environment, become something different—something vaguely sinister yet strangely fascinating. Lethbridge artist, Rick Gillis has captured these images in a series of un-posed snapshots. He has then individually mounted each one in vintage, family-style photo frames to further enhance their unique grotesquery and to give each one its destinct persona. They are “The Orphans of Rust Rock.” “The Thing,” whether considered a collection of rubbish, a shrine, or work of art, lives on, quietly, unobtrusively; growing each year but never completely secure in its longevity. Each summer an orphan or two is added and an orphan or two mysteriously disappears.

Scope and Content

37 photographs of figurines of the Rustrock Cathedral installation

Accession No.

20261041

Collection

Archive

Less detail