Displayed on the large windows of Lafarge Lake–Douglas Station, along Pinetree Way, you’ll find a curiously undulating collection of blue cards. It’s one of 26 exhibitions that are part of the 2023 Capture Photography Festival. Titled Blue Earth Tarot and by artist Alyson Davies, the public art installation will be on view until March 2024.

Blue Earth Tarot was produced in partnership by TransLink and the Art Gallery at Evergreen | Evergreen Cultural Centre.

Tarot cards, which inspired this Blue Earth Tarot, are believed to have originated in 14th-century Italy as playing cards. It became associated with mystical powers by the 18th century. Today, people seek guidance from tarot readings, finding empowerment and self-reflection in this meditative ritual.

Alyson’s series unites the seasons with images of the body and the natural world. The whimsy, tenderness and magic in this suite of 78 blue-and-white art cards offers a delightful contrast to the routine experience of the surrounding street and transit station.

Explore Blue Earth Tarot

Traditionally, tarot cards are often read as a three-card spread where the reader pulls three cards from the deck. Usually, the first card represents the past, the second represents the present, and the third represents the future.

Visit Lafarge Lake–Douglas Station to explore the art. Once in front of the artwork, follow these steps to read the tarot cards:

1. Meditate or think about a situation or question that is close to you.
2. Select three cards from the windows: one for the past, one for the present, and one for the future.
3. Access the tarot card guidebook by scanning the QR code located on the artwork write-up in the lower right corner of the display or click here.
4. Refer to the descriptions of the cards in the guidebook. Consider how the description, the artwork, and the card’s past, present, and future placement in the spread resonate with you.

If reading the tarot cards isn’t your thing, we encourage you to take in the standalone beauty of the whimsically crafted artwork.

Creating Blue Earth Tarot

The Blue Earth Tarot deck consists of 78 cards, all produced using a slow photographic printing process called cyanotype.

The imagery comes from Alyson’s hand-drawn sketches, photographs of plants and animals in the wintertime, and a collection of landscape photos taken by Alyson’s grandmother. Layering images into handmade collages, she forms illustrations rich in symbolism.

About Alyson Davies

Alyson Davies is a visual artist based in Edmonton, AB (amiskwaciwâskahikan, Treaty 6 Territory). Alyson was born to a rural family of talented trades and craftspeople.

In the studio, Alyson studies moments of connection with nature intertwined with personal histories and autobiographic storytelling. Small experiences are memorialized into artworks that offer moments of contemplation and stillness. Bold colours, flattened spaces, patterning, and exaggerated proportions create worlds just removed from reality.

She holds a Master of Fine Arts from Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Alberta in Edmonton.

Did you try reading your tarot? What journey are you on