EXPEDITION 3 | August 21, 2026
EXPEDITIONS/WORKS HARVESTED UNDER THIS PERMIT
Trembling Aspen Across the Calgary Forest Area
Expedition 3 examined naturally fractured trembling aspen at two accessible locations within the Calgary Forest Area. The fieldwork tested the developing recovery protocol under real conditions: recording the surrounding landscape, assessing material viability, documenting each fracture before disturbance, and assigning persistent identities only after recovery and initial structural review.
AUTHORITY
Recovery was conducted under Alberta Local Timber Permit LTP4626012. The expedition remained within the permit’s authorized area and conditions.
SITE 3.1 | McLean Creek PLUZ
Coordinates: 50.877522° N, 114.663425° W
Recorded elevation: 1,486 m
The first site contained a fractured trembling aspen in an open forest setting less than 100 metres from the main road. Portions of the fallen tree had already been removed before the expedition, but the remaining fracture retained several visually and structurally distinct forms.
Two specimens were recovered and assigned the persistent field identities:
3.1a-2026
3.1b-2026
During post-recovery assessment, a large vertical extension on 3.1a-2026 was found to be unstable and was removed by hand along its existing separation. The intervention did not mechanically reshape the remaining fracture and is retained in the specimen’s field record.
SITE 3.2 | Kananaskis Aspen Stand
Coordinates: 50.756067° N, 114.541114° W
Recorded elevation: 1,362 m
The second site contained fractured and standing-dead trembling aspen within an open mixed forest. Recovered material displayed substantially different conditions from Site 3.1, including saturated bark, localized mould and varying degrees of internal deterioration.
Three specimens were recovered and assigned the persistent field identities:
3.2a-2026
3.2b-2026
3.2c-2026
These conditions do not automatically disqualify the specimens, but they make stabilization and material assessment especially important. Each specimen must now demonstrate sufficient structural integrity through intake inspection, drying, moisture monitoring and treatment before interpretation is considered.
FIELD RECORD
The expedition record includes environmental context, in-situ and possession photography, field tags, compass and scale references, GPS coordinates, elevation, recovery documentation and post-removal photographs. The specimens remained in continuous artist custody from recovery through transport.
RECOVERY IS NOT QUALIFICATION
The five recovered specimens remain identified by their field numbers and have not yet entered an artwork collection. Recovery records where each artifact was encountered; it does not guarantee successful stabilization, artistic resolution or qualification for Fracture-Scapes by Nature.
If a specimen completes the required field, studio, provenance, material and authorship review, its collection designation may later be added to its persistent identity. A specimen that fails materially, remains unresolved or is retained for developmental study may instead enter Genesis—or may never become an artwork.
Expedition 3 demonstrates the selective nature of Fracture-Scaping: field recovery preserves possibility, while the material itself determines what can proceed.