On the western shore of Hudson Bay, Churchill is the Canadian Rail’s northernmost terminus. The town is on the fringe of the Arctic tundra, and, besides the handful of ecotourists seeking to explore the self-proclaimed “Polar Bear Capital of the World,” remains isolated from the rest of the world by the unshakable reality of its latitude. So what draws me to this place? In 1967, the Canadian Broadcast Company asked Glenn Gould to create a radio piece about Northern Canada to commemorate Canada’s centennial year. With this project, the famed pianist set out to accomplish a life-long ambition—to immerse himself in the experience of solitude. Gould believed that solitude was essential for the creative process and that for him specifically, it was only through solitude that true ecstasy could be achieved. The “North” for Gould was solitude, and he decided to make a documentary that would shed light on the people who sought—or were forced—to live their lives in Northern isolation. The small town of Churchill was as far north as Gould could get by train. Gould called his documentary “The Idea of North,” and the ideas he expressed through it beg questions that are becoming increasingly relevant in our overcrowded, ever-warming world. What does it mean to be geographically isolated in contemporary society? Is it even possible? How has climate change altered our conception of this geography—and the landscape itself? Are we on the cusp of another mass migration? Having spent several years exploring the idea of “West” (see accompanying images from my project entitled Historical Marker: Along the Lewis and Clark Trail) before turning my attention to finishing my most recent project (Axis and Allies, an exploration of World War II reenactors need to shape and connect to the past.) I am uniquely situated to tackle these questions. Photography is all about light, and few places have the kind of extremes found in Churchill. Aesthetically, I am making pictures about light—the lack of it and its seemingly unending presence. Substantively, I am exploring making images that approach the subject of “North” in a way that goes beyond simple photographic documentary—in a way that draws on Gould’s work and is a more abstract meditation on the idea of place.