Pesquisa Portugal: The Travels of Polaris Puff and L.J.
Introduction: Polaris Puff Travels in Western Canada and abroad
Polaris Puff is one of the most seasoned travellers found within the Global Art Project. The piece was presented to L.J. (at the time an Honours History Student at the University of Alberta in 2015) just before a family vacation to Portugal. whe Summer, 2017, began to unfold, L.J. had already completed one year of graduate study at the University of Alberta, and, as the second chapter found below reveals, travelled to Africa with the carving. Yet, prior to its journeys with L.J. recorded in the following vignettes, Polaris Puff embarked on a few worthwhile trips in and around Western Canada. Early in 2015, for example, the carving was transported westward across the Canadian Rockies to the environs of the Pacific Coast where it was integrated into a Carving Vignettes assignment for an Adult Education class at Douglas College. The piece was also a conspicuous in other journeys undertaken for the Global Art Project. Before its travels with L.J., Polaris Puff also went to Calgary to spend a night at the Palliser Hotel, proved to be a quiet companion for a stay at Morraine Lake Lodge, and was a conspicuous member of a group of carvings that traveled northward from Edmonton to attend a graduation ceremony at Athabasca University. The carving is found in this photo lounging at the base of a solitary and memorable wall in the northern community of Perryvale, still today a worthwhile entrepôt for appreciating the historical “portage” between Edmonton and Athabasca Landing.
Polaris Puff hits the historic wall at Perryvale, Alberta, Spring 2015
Chapter 1: Historical Portuguese Origins
As detailed above, in this first chapter L.J. and Polaris Puff embarked on a family vacation to Portugal during the summer 2015. At this juncture, the trip allowed L.J. some temporary respite before embarking on the final year of an Honours History program at the University of Alberta. With strong family roots in Portugal, Montreal, Oslo and Edmonton, L.J.'s undergraduate research interests were actually directed towards the History of the United States, a course of advanced study which continued as a graduate student. The trip documented below certainly reflects L.J.'s passion for personal history and ancestral Portuguese origins.
Praia Formosa, Santa Maria, Acores
6:59PM July 8, 2015 23°C, Sunny
Today’s arrival in Santa Maria marks the beginning of a wonderful trip. This tiny island in the Portuguese Islands known as the ‘Acores’ has created the vast family I call my own, which spans the world from Montreal to Oslo. My mother was born here, in a humble house which I have now visited. The island is so small we drove around it (as in the entire circumference of the island) in just over one hour. The ability to visit this place is both a privilege and a responsibility I have to myself to understand where I have come from. History has never been such an appealing area of study as when I was sitting at Praia Formosa in Santa Maria learning about my own history. The world history on this small island is also fascinating and new to me.
Fortaleza Sagres, Sagres
11:00AM July 21, 2015 32°C, Unseasonalby windy
While visiting the Fortazela Sagres (the Sagres Fort) in Portugal there is little question left in my mind about why the Portuguese had such a fascination with, and power over, the ocean. The legacies of the Greats, like Henry the Navigator, live on in places like this vast Fort. Henry the Navigator’s presence is especially prominent when considering the continued debate surrounding the circular rock formation which rests on the spot where he built his Navigation School (visible in the background). Is it a compass? A sun-dial? However interesting the answer to this question may be I find myself asking does it matter. I do not need to know the function to appreciate this place and the historical importance of the Portuguese maritime empire.
Cabo de São Vicente (Cape of Saint Vincent)
1:30PM July 23, 2015 25°C, Unseasonably windy
Once again visiting Portugal has opened my eyes and broadened my understanding of the past. Standing at this place, the most south-western point of Europe, it is clear why one would assume the world ended with a flat ridge. The world seems to disappear past the horizon. This image will forever be nicknamed “the end of the world”. I stood on the windy cliffs of Portugal, and now, I think I understand just a little better. But even more so, I am curious about the brave souls who ventured past that "end". This place continues to inspire thought among the masses... including one increasingly curious history student. During the day I wondered what the sun setting on this horizon would look like. Later in the evening on July 23rd I answered my own question; it was incredible.
Padrão dos Descobrimentos (Monument to the Discoveries), Belém
9:45AM July 28, 2015 24°C
Today's travels took us to Belém, a previously separate township from Lisbon with a vast and interesting history of its own. Nowhere has the previous power and prestige of the Portuguese empire been more evident than in Belém. Between the Torre de Belém (Belém Tower), Padrão dos Descobrimentos (Monument to the Discoveries), Mosteiro dos Jerónimos (Jerónimos Monastery), and Museu Nacional dos Coches (National Coach Museum); money and power were once very present here. The current state of the country may not reflect this, but history should be vigilant in reminding the world of such things. I hope the inspiration I gained from this trip, aides my development as a student of history and as a person. Appreciation for the past is something we should all strive to do more often. This trip has reinforced that idea for me.
Chapter 2: Final Destination Botswana, 2017
By the time of this second chapter, L.J. had completed studies as an undergraduate and one year of graduate study in the Department of History and Classics. The final vignette documents how Polaris Puff was taken by L.J. on an exciting African adventure during the Summer 2017, the year that Canada marked its 150th anniversary and the fourth time that School of One Carvings had made their way to continent. This would be the final journey of the well-travelled carving with L.J., and, like a small group of carvings that have gone missing during travels of select collaborators in Canada, the United States and Europe, Polaris Puff disappeared from L.J.'s belongings shortly after arrival in Botswana.
If Found, Do Not Return
Edmonton, 6:59PM July 12, 2017 23° /14°°C
It was late at night when I snapped this picture, in anticipation of the adventures to come. I was packing for a three-week whirl-wind trip to Botswana, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. “You must take pictures with Polaris Puff,” I told myself for weeks prior to packing. I was sure it would serve me well – allowing for reflection and documentation of my thoughts throughout the trip. Tucking it away between some socks, I zipped my bag and we were off! Flash forward through thirty-six hours of airports, busses, planes, and exhaustion and we had made our way to beautiful Botswana. Truly, Botswana was amazing and I am unable to put into words what it was like to be on the other side of the world with such amazing and hospitable people I would encounter during this adventure.
The initial excitement of our arrival was not without the disappointment that can come with travel anywhere in the World (including, of course, Canada). We had just returned from our first full day of water-based safaris, which I did not know was even something you could do; we were inches away from an elephant on a six-person speedboat (if this is not on your bucket list, add it now). The sun was just setting over the Okavango Delta. The hippos were roaring and laughing. What a perfect opportunity for a photo, you may say. You would be correct. Running to my room to grab my camera and Polaris Puff – mindful of the baboons, as instructed by our hosts – I rummaged through my bag to find that my perfect-picture-companion was no longer there. When I had reached into my backpack to get my sunglasses the day before at the Xaxaba landing strip, I had seen the white box he was encased. But, sadly, the carving (and three of my bracelets) had not made it through their first full day in Africa.
sadly, the carving (and three of my bracelets) had not made it through their first full day in Africa. I won’t lie, I was upset at the thought at first. But, these feelings of anger soon turned to amusement – where would he go? What would he get to see that I didn’t? Perhaps I was even a little jealous that he may remain in Botswana when I had to return home. Here, too, it is important to stress that I am no longer upset by the idea that someone has adopted this beautiful piece of art from me – what a story I now have to tell. Also, I was happy to find that even the thought of having Polaris with me for a photo, and even the memory of the piece gave me the opportunity to pause and reflect on my surroundings. So, thank you, Polaris Puff.
If found, do not return. Enjoy the power of a piece of art which was created with so much dedication. Pause, reflect, and consider your surroundings with this piece among them. Hopefully it will bring you the joy it brought me for a time. Oh, and please, send pictures.
A Few Details About the Carving Called Polaris Puff
Polaris Puff at Athabasca Landing, Alberta, Spring 2015
This carving is guided by a comparative reading of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican and Andean interpretations regarding the intricate relationship between the arc of the horizon and the “spiraling’ movement of light, water and sound as well as complimentary Eurasian insights regarding “bundling”. The colours found in the carving help recall stars frequently used to navigate the onset of a late-Fall, Northern Alberta Twilight. When gently nudged in either direction the carving will spin while too much force will produce an unhappy result. The fissures wrapping guiding light around the piece hark to the occasional gust of Fall Wind in the Edmonton River Valley and further suggest “puffy” or billowing seasonal sails moving the piece along its inevitable journey towards a frosty Western Canadian Winter. The rock for the carving was quarried from the environs of the Low Level Bridge, Edmonton, just after the city’s riverboat made its final voyage for 2014.