I made these collages and drawings as companion pieces to the Forest Fire Blankets. Where the blankets are large, take up space and create a sense of slowness, the collages are small, busy and brightly coloured. But they still pack a punch.

First I create the background by pasting together pages from vintage 1990’s issues of Beautiful British Columbia magazine and National Geographic. I then cut out the 1 or 2 inch-high text freehand from more magazine pages - a fiddly process that often results in wonky text! - and paste the words onto the images.

Many of these images were illustrating articles about the dangers of over-logging forests and the risks of climate change and show loggers at work, forested slopes and wildlife that rely on forest habitats. It is heartbreaking that 30 years later these problems have only got worse.

Other collages are made by incorporating text into, or pasting hand cut text over, ink drawings. The drawings are made by tracing around twigs and leaves and then filling in the spaces with China ink, which is made with charcoal.

The demand for paper is a major driver of industrial logging practices. Old growth trees from Vancouver Island where I live have been logged and pulped to make toilet paper. Using mainly found and repurposed paper in this project is a reminder of the absurdity of forestry management that prioritises short term financial gain over the need to save these living treasures that help to shade and cool forests, hold carbon and create a rich biodiversity that sustains an almost unimaginably complex web of life.