Primal Pilgrimage: Matthew Jones

Matthew Jones work explores the disconnect between our urban society and the natural world. Some of the landscapes are First Nations sites while others are sublime tracks of land that so stirred the hearts of men in the 19th century that a federal park system was established to ensure they remained a part of our cultural identity. Even when we venture forth on these pilgrimages, a significant part of the experience is driving between points of significance. In our rush to “see everything” we lose the opportunity to feel it, to find the spiritual connection that elevated these landscapes. These spaces, the spiritual, the sublime, and even the mundane, have been cut off from our lives, relegated to distinct frontiers in actuality as well as in thought. What do we discover when we leave our contemporary lives for a time and immerse ourselves in these places that our ancestors held in such reverence? What epiphany will you have when you embark on a primal pilgrimage?