My daughter Mackenzie went missing in December of 2020. For three and half years we searched for her, planning next steps when we found her, never imagining what the outcome would be. Mackenzie was found, and finally laid to rest, in the summer of 2024. Through it all, grief was always bearing down on our shoulders, while our community did their best to hold us up. The reflection of her image in rippled water is an embodiment of the lived experience of the peaks and valleys of this grief, not just ours, but also our community’s. The movement in the water distorts the image of Mackenzie as it ebbs further out from the epicenter. But she is reflected in each ripple of our thoughts, our memories, our love.

Grief can be sudden or gradual, but the result remains the same.

-Paul Trottier

Paul Trottier lives and works in Saskatoon and Prince Albert. As an artist he has shown in numerous locations across Canada, often with the group “Men Who Paint”. A recipient of numerous accolades, Paul’s work is collected in both private and public collections in Canada and abroad. Spending his time painting across Canada, Paul is fortunate to practice his passion and experience plein air painting at its finest. Paul worked at the University of Saskatchewan for over twenty years in numerous capacities and was the past director of the internationally acclaimed Emma Lake Kenderdine Campus.