How does the water shape the space we build along it?

Created in 1958, the Redpath Sugar Refinery is well-established storage and refining plant along Toronto’s Harbourfront. There is the industrial and settler mindset that we must conquer the landscape to grow as a society. Water systems are often overwritten by human operations yet are essential to the life of businesses. Redpath is not just located by the water but is in collaboration with it. It was necessary their plant was built by the water as their processed sugar is transported by boat along the Saint Lawrence Seaway. In its history, there have been industrial dumping, toxic byproducts, and disruptions to the local ecosystem through the discharge of warm water. This partnership is an exploitation of Lake Ontario.

Depicting the area, I used cyanotype on plywood. The sheets of wood reference factory production while the texture underneath the images suggests the erosion from the sugary syrup seeping along the factory walls. During the cyanotype process, the constant washing and the thinness of the boards has caused them to warp in a wave-like manner.