On Nov. 1, Memorial Hall presented Eric Hill’s most recent work called The North Fades. It’s an audio and visual project that tells a story of Hill’s northern New Brunswick experience while featuring fragments of the 70s and 80s with a touch of modernism.
The project is on display at the University of New Brunswick’s Art Centre as part of a series titled UNDERCURRENT. The project’s videography, moving visuals, music, and recorded spoken words add to the series a sense of northern familiarity and home.
Having such an extensive history in New Brunswick served as an artistic inspiration to Hill, who grew up in the Campbellton/Pointe-à-la-Garde area.
“I maintained a sort of connection to [Campbellton] that, as time passed, grew more and more tenuous. Now that both of my parents have passed away, I don’t really have a physical connection to the place anymore,” said Hill. “That was what spurred the idea for the show, what happens to your points of origin as your reasons for connection become lessened?”
He then permanently relocated to Fredericton after completing his studies in creative writing and poetry, which allowed him to foster connections with the UNB Art Centre.
Through this work, Hill also wanted to explore the idea of home not being just a house he grew up in, but a landscape as well.
“I thought of the limits of what I knew back then, which was maybe only 40 kilometres in every direction being part of my home. My memories are sort of tied to that, to nature, to water, to the sounds of the place, to the skies.”
Hill also felt it was important to include interviews with current and former residents, to offer a variety of perspectives on his home town.
“My idea was, rather than just an hour of me talking about my own experiences, I would let all these other voices as well as the images of the place, speak about themselves and their points of view,” he explained. “So it’s a much more 360-degree view of time and place.”
Hill plans to continue refining and working on The North Fades, in hopes of presenting it to the public in Campbellton and more neighbouring communities.
“When it became clear that for the residency, [The North Fades] would be performed [at the UNB Art Centre], it opened the door to work on all of these parts simultaneously,” he said.
As Hill worked on his project as an artist-in-residence for the UNB Art Centre, he was pleased with its outcome and the effort it took to shape his piece from the ground up.
When asked what advice he would give to young, aspiring artists, Hill sent the encouraging message to “not think of limitations” and to open themselves up to the receptive New Brunswick community.
“Find your people, find people that do similar things as you and collaborate. The more input you get from outside yourself, the more ideas will flow and reflect outwards and inwards.”
