Mackenzie Jessop is a member of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy of Nations, specifically the Seneca Nation, belonging to the Snipe Clan. His band is The Six Nations of The Grand River, located on the reserve of the same name. Mackenzie is a second-year media studies PhD student at the Faculty of Information and Media Studies at Western University.
These are excerpts from my conversations with Mackenzie about what is represented in his digital story, entitled Glimpses of London.
Glimpses of London, Part 1: Western University campus
(Top left to right): (1) This could be any tree on campus if you just look up. (2) This is the magnolia tree up front with Elgin Hall in the background. It’s not a 100% accurate but you get the vibe. (3) These are the hydrangeas on campus. (Bottom left): (4) Tulips about to spoil, curling. These are a flower box in my neighborhood that have the most vibrant tulips I’ve ever seen.
— Mackenzie Jessop
Glimpses of London, Part II: Adelaide and Cheapside impressions
(Top left to right): (1) A view between two houses right where I catch the bus to get back from shopping at the United Supermarket. It’s this little tiny pocket of dark shade between apartment buildings. It’s a little claustrophobic, but you get the impression it’s a communal space. There’s always something left in there, like that bike. (2) Old North in the fall. (3) This is the Desjardins insurance building. The first time I saw that sign, I knew exactly what it said: “We understand Chinese.” (4) A flower growing near Adelaide and Cheapside. These are the little bits of nature that are squeezing out in between everything. (5) A deflated basketball. The basketball poles have paint chips, and they get the rust coming through. (6) An apartment building right across from the Metro grocery store. (7) Another flower growing near Adelaide and Cheapside.
— Mackenzie Jessop
Glimpses of London, Part III: East London
These were actually inspired by one particular bus ride, except for [the image in the middle]. (Top and bottom): This is one of those houses by Adelaide and Cheapside. It’s also down here because they planted the little tiger lilies. That’s where I captured the bright orange, and I remembered that and that was the feature I really wanted to capture. That and this little satellite dish.
(Left): I remember this sign because I didn’t see a lot of open signs that had rainbow colours. It was basically built out of industrial metal, and it was this little hole-in-the-wall pizza place in the middle of nowhere.
(Middle): This was inspired by going to get a bagel sandwich at The Spoke and walking in between the crab apple trees as they were in bloom over by Alumni Hall.
(Right): This one came from one late evening. This was from riding the 16, I remember. I went out and I was like, “I wonder where the 16 goes?” Apparently, it goes to this part of town with a lot of condos. I remember this place partially because there were three girls sitting behind me dressed like characters from Euphoria just chatting up a storm. Like the crass no-nonsense girls. They were coming out from buildings like this and just going to a party in the middle of July, just having a good time.
— Mackenzie Jessop
©Mackenzie Jessop, 2022. All rights reserved.