Check out the Charity Shoal 2050 video

Charity Shoal 2050, depicts one of the most notorious stretches of water known to marine navigators in a different light. Located at the eastern end of Lake Ontario, where it opens to the St Lawrence river the shoal can cause the water to be less than 10 feet deep. Because of this shallowness and its peculiar magnetic pull, Charity Shoal is known as the “Graveyard of Lake Ontario." In fact, the Shoal has claimed over 270 ships since the days of early canoes. Many of the vessels have carried great treasures, depicted here through the use of gold foil speckling throughout the foreboding water. 

I personally have enjoyed this area as I have had a chance to sail these waters as a young child and now regularly explore it with my friends in a small dinghy. 

As part of my new 2050 series, Charity Shoal 2050 explores what this area will look like in the year 2050, only if we are able to implement carbon sink technologies.This is particularly important as global warming is forever changing our oceans through acidification and many marine species will soon face mass extinction. 

For a number of years, I have been interested in research on global warming. In one of my research endeavours, I have worked with methane monoxygenase, (MMO), an enzyme to lower bovine methane emissions. My experiments showed that MMO, which catalyzes the decomposition reaction of methane gas, can lower methane levels by 70%. 

To pay homage to this research, I have placed cows grazing over the moist grass of Main Duck Island. In theory, cows - which have been termed  the “Next SUV” for their impact on global warming - represent a critical area of research to lower global warming. If we can alter their microbiomes or alter the chemical reactions taking place at a microscopic level, we might be able to alter our outcome. 

On the back of the canvas is a topographic map depicting the darkest part of the area, which measures over 800 feet at its deepest levels. 

Peaking over the horizon is a lighthouse, a frequently occurring theme in many of my paintings. This serves as a beacon of hope towards a better and cleaner future, where beauty can prosper and lore may continue. 

Size: 36" x 36"