XYZ
Art is Freedom
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We Are All Treaty People in Canada
🎨 Never in my nine years of quietly practising free press as a citizen from the public gallery—while the official press gallery sat mostly empty—have I seen such disregard for Alberta’s democratic process as I witnessed on March 9, 2026. I’ve followed the 29th, 30th, and now 31st Legislature over the past 9 years with the patience of a man who has spent far too much time sketching politicians instead painting landscapes, and still, nothing prepared me for this. Alberta’s minority Treaty Chiefs filled the government‑side gallery with a single intention: to grandstand, to disrupt, to turn the day’s business into theatre. The Speaker tried to maintain order, but the choreography was already set—Chiefs in solidarity with the Loyal Opposition, amplified by a corporate media eager for spectacle. The goal wasn’t debate; it was disorder. Not persuasion, but performance. Meanwhile, the working people who actually make this province run—the parents getting thier kids off to school, the adults working hard to put roofs over their families’ heads, the folks who voted for this majority government—went about their day unaware that their Legislature had briefly transformed into a circus tent by a small few actors. The Loyal Opposition’s leadership currently sits under a cloud of its own doubts, and Edmonton, our capital city, feels increasingly frayed at the edges with increasing disorder. The anger is rising, the temperature is rising, and the potential for violence hangs in the air like static before a storm. And I find myself wondering: Is any of this worth it? Is the chaos accomplishing anything beyond feeding itself? And here’s the simple truth—The antidote to disorder isn’t more noise—it’s more quiet listening with respect to the democracy we all find ourselves in. Not the kind of listening that waits for its turn to shout, but the kind that remembers we share this house of democracy, this city, this province as one. The kind that steadies the ground instead of shaking it for theatrical effect.
🎨 Pop pop Dazzled by Every Day and Abstracts of Light and Shadows presents a découpé visual narrative cut-up on YouTube(s). A look into the past to glimpse the future unknown. I’ve interlaced recent and archived citizen-free news stories with layered sounds and visuals. This process births a new art form, crafting fresh narratives through the cut-up technique. Enjoy!
Tit for tat, O'Canada Pop pop Dazzled
🎨 Edmonton’s political activists—yes, the same spirited crew once tangled with police on the High Level Bridge during a Palestine demonstration—were back at it Saturday, gathering at the Alberta Legislature to rally against the Israeli and U.S. stance toward Iran. Meanwhile, just down the river by the Walterdale Bridge, a pro‑USA/Israel group held its own event. Two rallies, one city, one river flowing past all of us, indifferent to who’s chanting what. Some days it feels like everyone’s turned up the volume, but maybe the trick is to take a breath, loosen the shoulders, and let the current carry what we can’t control. A little serenity, a little humour, a little self‑awareness—because war is hard, life is loud, and sometimes the best we can do is keep making art while the world and mother nature argues around us.
