Halie Finney
what’s in the woods, and other stories (a very unfinished comic), 2020
For years I’ve had these characters in my head: Fred the dog, Francis the bear, Faupher the bat, and Loonette the ghost. Each of them have made numerous appearances throughout my work, whether I intend to include them or not. To me they have become fully formed individuals with their own motivations, but to others they are just strangers. I’ve kept them fairly private for a long time but I’ve always thought that the best way for people to get to know them would be through some kind of comic or book.
My initial concept for the comic was to show how the group of four got its fourth member, Loonette. Everyone is afraid of Loonette. She is a frightening figure lurking over them. Initially Fred is the only one who is aware of Loonette, he begins losing his sleep and ends up confessing his fears to his two friends. They don’t take it too seriously since Fred is an anxious dog and is easily scared, but slowly they start to notice odd things as well. Eventually Loonette’s true intentions are somewhat understood, they get used to her and slowly allow her into their family. Some of the panels are from that train of thought.
The changing seasons paired with Isolation has been the perfect combo for nostalgia and wanting to connect with family. While riding those feelings I ended up coming up with a new character only known as “Cousin.” He is a black bear, and is Francis’ cousin. They haven’t seen each other in a long time and Francis is really excited to reconnect. They spend the evening laughing and eating, and reminiscing, but Cousin can’t stay too long, and he ends their visit in the wee hours of the morning. They say their goodbyes and Francis gets a little emotional. But as Cousin turns his back to leave Francis notices something stuck to his fir. She pulls at it, thinking it’s a woodchip or something but instead it’s a zipper! His back unzips and his skin falls to the ground, revealing a ghost. The ghost begins to frantically apologize while Francis is shocked, unable to move. The ghost explains that he’s Cousin, but he had died a few years ago. He wanted to visit Francis but didn’t want to break the bad news of his death so he made a costume of his living self out of his own fur. Some of the panels are from this mini-story.
I began the comic after a period of working on projects with strict deadlines. I wanted something to work on that I could do at my own pace without any stress or expectations. The timing ended up coinciding with social-isolating caused by Covid-19. This project has been a really nice outlet during these weird times. I get to explore the themes of grief and fear that I’ve been exploring in my other work in a really playful way.
Halie Finney is a Metis artist from the Lesser Slave Lake region of Alberta who understands her heritage through the memories of her family and the shared experiences of her home’s landscape and lifestyle.
Halie has created a mythology of characters living in a simplified story-book version of her hometown. The band of characters play out non-linear, idiosyncratic narratives that are expressed through animations, costumes, drawings, paintings, performances and other objects.
Halie received a BFA from the Alberta University of Art and Design in 2017. Most recently Halie has shown at Latitude 53, was featured on Gallery 44’s exhibition/publication A Maze of Collapsing Lines: Resemblance, curated by Ociciwan, and participated in Terrence Houle’s Ghost Days residency at the Banff Centre for arts and Creativity. She has an upcoming show at Manning Hall at the Art Gallery of Alberta. Currently Halie Lives in Edmonton, Alberta.