Recent Work | All Mediums

The newest work. Listed cronologically, prior to eventual categorization.

Digger Film Critique — Strong Medicine

The cynical end of the film “Digger” is a powerful, sad, satirizing but plausible look at what could become of humanity. The end dramatically puts the whole film in context, in a way that the end of “The Planet of the Apes” also did many years ago. To refresh your memory, at the end of that film we find out that Earth is the Planet of the Apes. This film invites us to wake up and smell the coffee.

There are “spoilers” here. This is an essay. Read on accordingly.

As the film ends, we see a full house of people in a large theatre cheering and clapping. They are watching a theatrical production that illustrates how the end of humanity’s idyllic life on the planet earth went down. It is the final scene of a production that is being depicted and constructed throughout the film in the form of rehearsals for the play. The rehearsals all along are blurred together with actual “reality.” It’s a bit confusing. There is a lot going on. It’s a struggle.

The core idea of the film for me is that humanity has fully and knowingly participated in the degradation of life on the planet. There is a strong, and boldly didactic scene where the main character, Digger Rockwell (a powerful oil tycoon blatantly responsible for humanity’s problems, played like a Cruise Missile, by Tom), explains to the European Parliament that everyone is complicit in the result. It’s a result we “all” saw coming. In Freudian theory this is Thanatos. Simply put: the innate human death drive or instinct. It’s our unconscious urge towards self-destruction, related to aggression and a return to a lifeless inorganic state. Not a pleasant thought. You can be excused for not liking the film for this reason alone. Who wants to be reminded of this?

The reality check character in the film, Ganesh, is a scientist of sorts who is the reporter of bad news. Its’ no accident here that the name “Ganesh” is used for this fellow. The Ganesh (there are variable spellings) is the renowned Hindu deity related to wisdom. In the film the character is from India, a fact that is made clear when he is grilled by American politicians. The character in the film is played wonderfully by Rizwan Ahmed, a British Pakistani actor.

In some ways one can see why there is such negativity aimed at the movie. It’s muddled, confusing, hyper over-the-top in its depiction of all the characters involved: The president of the United States, the military, religious figures, politicians, scientists. Some of these over-the-top characters are too close to reality for comfort.

Likely, no one who does not buy into the dark scenario will like what they see. (Perhaps displacing their unconscious or conscious realization that we are all part of the problem depicted here?) The film may ring a bell for those who lament that this is the path we are all on, (and we might be helpless to change course?)

Whatever your take on the film, if you even venture to see it — may depend on your political stripes. There were six people in the Imax theatre opening weekend when I saw it. But I think beneath it all, most of us do not like looking at ourselves and our world being depicted in such a dark way. It’s a provocative film. Strong medicine indeed.

Niagara Falls, from show at the You me Gallery, Hamilton

Eclipse, Dundas

Can you dig it. My photo from show at the you me gallery, Hamilton

25 years of pumpkin designs.Click and have a look.

A series of visuals for the Tom Wilson's Mohawk Symphony concerts. R. Wilson Hall, McMaster University, May 26, 27 & 28, 2022:

See some of the visuals and video here.

I am participating in a show of comic book art at the RAID Gallery in Toronto. Curated by Ivan Kocmarek, the Trailblazers show is a homage to early Canadian comic artists, who influenced “the growth of our popular culture” in Canada. (Alene’s father Aram was one of the artists.)

Opening 7-10 pm Saturday, December 18, 2021.
The show will remain up into February.
The RAID Gallery
1720 Queen St W, Toronto,

More about the show here