Introduction: Intent of this Medium
by kendra parkinson
Why post a photo of a bicycle on a wall? This blog is intended to be a medium for Canadian literature and cultural analysis. I figure the best way to start is with a personal anecdote.
I moved into my new apartment two weeks ago. It is slightly under 200 square feet. Significantly more spacious than the Vancouver dwellings I remember, but for Hamilton ON it is a tiny hobbit hole. Perhaps other areas have varying schemes of what is normal.
The westcoaster at heart could not give up the bicycle, so I lived with it on the floor for two weeks, doing tasks such as cooking, studying and working in and amongst the bike. I’ve been trying to figure out how to fix a bike rack onto the wall by using wooden dowels. Though my father was a heavy duty mechanic and I’m originally from interior BC from a working class background, my mechanical knowledge beyond bicycles is severely limited. I played witness to a host of home and automotive projects since a young age, but I was never really taught the mechanics.
The dowel bike rack operation did not work how I was attempting to do it. I went to the hardware store a few times, but I was too cheap to buy a studfinder and I never mastered the trick of tapping the walls for the solid portions. I also found that using the back of a drill as a mallet is not effective for putting in drywall anchors, even when you predrill. So I went for the functional, though less attractive garage wallmount.
Why share this? Is there a connection to Canadian literature?
Communities shape our experiences. What opportunities to learn or what we value is as much shaped by the skills we learn to value growing up, as it is the centres that the educated youth choose to move to and work in. My roots are in rural BC, my decisions root in logic that is shaped by the abstract web of sciences and arts. I live in a city, though Hamilton is working class in its history.
Within this course I look forward to exploring the intersectionality between class, geography, and economic opportunities for growth in Canadian society. A great deal of this course focuses on colonialism and postcolonial perspectives of the previously colonized. I look forward to hearing the voices that are often muted and distorted by the majority.
As for myself, I am finishing my fourth year at UBC in the interdisciplinary studies program. My expected graduation is this December.
I have a program focus of social and environmental determinants of health, with the majority of my courses in the social sciences and sciences. Primarily I focus on the impact of geography and resources on a persons well being, as well as the interplay between the health of the environment and the health of humans. With this, I leave you with a link to a thesis on phytoremediation, a process that involves using plants to clean toxic soil in urban centres.
References:
Parkinson, Kendra. Bicycle On The Wall. 2016. Print.
Todd, Leila. “Phytoremediation: An Interim Landscape Architecture Strategy For Canadian Municipalities”. Masters. Guelph, 2013. Print.
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Hi Kendra!!
Thank you for your blog and discussion about the bike-on-the wall. 200 square feet… I’ll be honest, I think I would go crazy!!! We currently have my boyfriend’s old exhaust manifold hanging on our wall, where his bike used to hang. We actually decided to make the switch after he worked his a$$ off getting the new exhaust manifold in the vehicle. The bike now hangs out in our front entrance area (we are lucky to have 1000 sq ft at the moment, although that may soon change) with his newest addition – a mountain bike. However, your post resonated with me as we have certainly had his bike as part of our “decor” to save space as well. Perhaps this is a practice done by more people than we think! Or maybe we are the odd ones out. Who knows!!
In analyzing your post, I think it is important to re-emphasize the connection you have so eloquently made regarding the intersecting realities of Canadian culture. Perhaps this is part of what it means to be Canadian: intersection, crossover, movement, change, innovation, tradition, (and sometimes contradiction!); all while somehow maintaining a sense of “home”…wherever home may be!
– Charlotte
Please note: late response due to technical difficulties!
Hi Charlotte, thank you for your comments and kind words.
It is interesting what we prize as art or at the very least items we think should be centrepieces in our homes. In some respects I think it is the advent of apartment therapy and pinterest that have redefined the lines as to what is appropriate decor for urban dwellers – which I am thrilled about haha!
Your note on intersection is very on point with Chamberlin’s perspective (as well as Dr. Paterson’s). Perhaps it is odd to note, but it is this momentary parallel that is existing between us at the moment (the sharing of bikes on the wall) that is an intersection, while we both lead completely different lives on opposite sides of the country. So interesting!