Scott Rogers
The Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre, Hudson Regional Cancer Centre, Barrie
March – September 2025
Spanning 43 minutes in length, the work is composed with open-source field recordings of bird songs ranging through the same time zone as RVH. Spanning from Peru to northern Ontario and Québec, the work brings resident, migratory, and tropical bird species into a collective song within one of the Centre’s main waiting rooms. This chorus of avian voices is a reminder of the relativity of humans in regard to other life forms, and the complex interconnectedness we are part of. The title of the installation is drawn from a description of the forest canopy—that place where the sky meets greenery—suggesting an expansive ecology spanning duration and distance.
For visitors to the Cancer Centre, the installation aims to foster a sense of well-being and peacefulness, creating a comforting atmosphere for all who enter.
Through this residency, we reflect on questions such as: Can we draw from our lived experiences to advance the field of public art? Can an art encounter extend beyond framed, two-dimensional spaces or object-based spectatorship in healthcare environments? Can it move beyond the visual—beyond therapeutic still images—by engaging more of the senses? And can we expand the narrative of sickness, introducing a more complex and nuanced perspective to the patient experience as a form of empowerment?
Together with the artist, we dedicate this iteration of Between Leaf & Light to Tracey Baker, a fellow cancer patient whose generous financial contribution made this project possible and whose courage has deeply inspired and moved us. Thank you, Tracey. We would also like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to Frances Thomas, Curator of the RVH Permanent Collection, and Carol-Ann Ryan, Public Art Coordinator for the City of Barrie, along with everyone at RVH, whose unwavering support was instrumental in bringing this project to life.
A Note About Access
While the Cancer Centre is not open to non-treatment-related public visits during regular hours, we will host an appreciation listening event in the space during off-hours later this spring for project supporters and the interested public. Stay tuned—details will be announced soon!
Scott Rogers was born in Mohkinstsis Treaty 7 Calgary, Canada, and currency based in Toronto. He holds a BFA from the University of Calgary (CA) an MFA from the Glasgow School of Art (SCO), and also studied at the Staedelschule in Frankfurt am Main (DE). Scott produces artworks that form relations between humans and other lifeforms, proposing ways of living together more hospitably. Some of his recent projects have been presented with Koraï Project Space (Nicosia, CY), Nuit Blanche Toronto (CA), Kunstverein München (DE), Ivory Tars (Glasgow, SCO), the Kamias Triennial (Manila, PH) and Franz Kaka (Toronto, CA). With Will Holder, Rogers co-edited “Recognition”, the 14th issue of the journal FR DAVID, which was published by KW Institute for Contemporary Art (Berlin, DE) in 2017. In 2024, Rogers will undertake projects with La Napoule Art Foundation (Cannes, FR), Flat Time House (London, UK), Atlas Arts (Skye, SCO), and Ormston House (Limerick, IR).