The Ice Storm

In January 1998 a massive ice storm struck eastern Canada and the United States, causing extensive damage to electrical infrastructure as well as widespread, long-term power outages. Many transmission towers collapsed under the weight of the ice; these massive, crumpled towers—which were part of an essential network holding this vast country together—were a testament to the crushing force of the elements. Coupland has recreated a tower that fell victim to the ice storm, a strangely elegant and biomorphic form that serves as a metaphor for the frailty that characterizes some of the national systems that bind us together.

Through a wide range of media including assemblage, installation, painting, photography, sculpture and quilts, Coupland has persistently investigated Canadian cultural identity, both benign and menacing. Using imagery and objects latent with symbolic meaning for Canadians, he delineates what it means to be Canadian, offering a “secret handshake” not easily understood by others.