Interrogating industrialization and development upon unceded land, the military, the housing crisis, and the wealth gap, HALIWOOD seeks to critique the current economic discrepancies in Halifax. Through the use of materials, colours, and space, HALIWOOD uses symbolism from the famous Hollywood sign and its associated historical context to articulate the local grievances of Halifax’s socio-economic systems.

Located on Citadel Hill, we used the presence of this Halifax military base to further illustrate the work. Using a camouflage-like design, our intention is to blend the letters into the grass, describing how some people can walk by and choose not to see our current economic state, while others simply cannot. The back side of the signs was left “unfinished” to speak about how a coat of paint can clean up the surface, but we cannot escape our history.

Materials: Reclaimed cardboard, reclaimed wood, house paint, wood glue, and screws.