TEDx Bermuda: 'We are becoming progressively more disconnected with ourselves'

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19: Contemporary Canadian artist and passionate skateboarder Ross Lagissicke has a creative proposal he hopes will tear down walls.

In response to his belief that we are becoming “progressively more disconnected with ourselves and the places that we inhabit” his latest project focuses on how modern cities are increasingly placing boundaries between social and racial and other groups.

He talked about how Toronto spent $1billion on security and separation for its 2010 G20 summit, ten times the amount of a similar event in Pittsburg just a few years earlier. The major element in Toronto was a 10-foot security fence.

“I was working in the area at the time and it was fascinating to witness this structure being built and the impact it was having on the neighbourhood,” he recalled. There was even a checkpoint for those living in the parameter. The summit for many was a disastrous moment in the city’s history — it reinforced the confusing and disenfranchising nature of our current global socio-economic situation. It also brought in the question of personal freedom.”

The artist, who has a permanent collection at Thunder Bay Art Gallery in Ontario aims to re-create walls from around the world including the Berlin Wall, the US/Mexico border wall, the Israeli West Bank separation barrier and the G20 summit fence. He questions: “Can we reclaim ownership of our surroundings and refuse an environment that manifests intolerance and fear — our vision is one of freedom and unity where public space encourages discussion and not division.”

Legassicke has received grants from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council. To see his work visit: www.ryanlagassicke.com