An example of Dorland’s groundbreaking practice, “Hoax” incorporates the artist’s signature fluorescent pigments and rich earth tones in the contemporary landscape painting. Throughout the artists earlier body of work of this period, a Sasquatch-like figure within the woods features prominently as a comment on mythological themes of the wilderness and the overarching myth of Canadian landscape painting in the greater art historical dialogue within Canada. Rather than present the landscape as terra nullius—the void, pristine, virgin land often idealized by historical Canadian painting and art history—the artist incorporates contemporary figures and tokens in a rugged environment, highlighted by the loose but controlled brushwork, effectively occupying the land and leaving traces of human presence and experiences. Strong formal elements of line, contrast, and balance of composition are intrinsic to Dorland’s work, highlighted here by the linear white birch trees framing the central figure and contrasting with both the pigmentation and deconstructed painting technique.
