Back in 1898, thousands of men and women arrived in Skagway with gold fever. They were headed for the Klondike goldfields over the Chilkoot Pass. Around their necks, they carried packets of fermented dough to make bread on their long, cold journey. If they made it through their first year in the bitter North, they were dubbed “sourdoughs”, after the bread that kept them alive during the endless night of winter.
This is the first in a series of animated postcards from Chilkoot Pass. These mini-documentaries are rooted in reality, with live interviews and photos from the Chilkoot Trail as providing a catalyst for my personal memories and playful reinterpretations. As an artist, this is about as fun as it gets!
Read more about the project here.
Corrie Francis Parks is a photographer and filmmaker based in Big Sky, Montana. An alumna of Dartmouth College and University of Southern California, her award-winning films have been exhibited at over 100 national and international film festivals. She combines photography and animation in time-based works for gallery exhibition and installation. Through long exposures and open-shutter camera movement, her still photography and animated light paintings bring a new palette of textures and rhythms derived from the natural world into the galley setting. She has been an artist in residence at the MacDowell Colony and Fundación Valparaíso, a Fulbright Fellow to New Zealand, and a recipient of a Sierra Foundation Grant for her work in experimental photography. You can find more of her work at www.corriefrancis.com.
