Behind the Lines

Since the age of ten when Bill Horne wrote his first letter to Mayor Jean Drapeau of Montreal expressing his concern about pollution in the St. Lawrence River, Horne has taken an active part in shaping the world around him. His practice as an artist has become closely woven with his role as an activist as he often draws upon those skills as a means of expressing his concerns. “Behind the Lines” draws from the artist’s archive of responses to letters he has written to political and other influential figures over the years. Horne assembles elements that illuminate and feed into the concerns reflected in the letters of response that he screen prints onto material as diverse as priests vestments and plastic sheeting. Sometimes humourous, sometimes pointed, this empowering collection of work spans four decades of activism and provides ample fodder for reflection.