Vessel: stories from the edge of the world
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Date
2024-01-05
Authors
Bursey, Liam
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Waterloo
Abstract
From the first instances of human inhabitation on the island of Newfoundland,
wooden boats have been crucial facilitators to life on The Rock. Those who called
this beautifully rugged land home were able to do so as a direct result of hand built
wooden watercraft, fashioned from the land and made for the purpose of
existing on the sea. Today, wooden boats have long since given way to the pressures
of the industrial age, yet a select few people continue to practice this tradition of
boat building for both personal, practical, and heritage preservation reasons. As
an object of material culture, wooden boat building is argued to represent an act
of placemaking, intertwining the collective identity of communities with the individual
identity of boat builders.
Exploratory filmmaking practice and interviews with Newfoundlanders involved
in boat building traditions reflect and refract the socio-cultural conditions that
characterize the place. A documentary film is made to express the synergetic
relationship between wooden boats, the landscape, and the culture surrounding it.
Ultimately, the film is a vessel for the ineffable experiences of Newfoundland as a
true expression of place.
Description
Keywords
Newfoundland, film, fishing boats, wooden boats, place, craft, material culture, identity, community, placemaking, boat building, heritage, tradition, preservation, filmmaking, documentary, cinema, movie, interview, exploration, landscape