‘An honour’ to be part of Trail of the Caribou pilgrimage, says inaugural artist-in-residence

A St. John’s artist recently joined the ranks of a delegation bound for Turkey to mark the province’s ties that date back to the First World War — and used artwork to commemorate the trip.

Caroline Clarke was the inaugural artist-in-residence for the 2025 Trail of The Caribou – Gallipoli Pilgrimage to Turkey that took place in November.

“Oh my goodness, it was such an honour to be part of this trip,” Clarke told CBC News.

“It’s such a privilege, it really is.”

There’s a long history of artists portraying conflict in their work. Clarke — an illustrator who works in a variety of mediums — was able to continue that practice by going to the areas where battles were fought.

“What I like to practice a bit is called reportage illustration, and it was really common in World War I because photography was very limited,” said Clarke.

“Basically artists were commissioned by the government. Sometimes they went on their own, sometimes they were actually soldiers in the field and they just kept records of it visually."

For the artist, it meant a lot to carry on the tradition.

‘It really impacts you’

Over the summer Clarke captured scenes of the 2025 Canada Summer Games with the Group of 77, a non-profit member-run group that has continued to meet weekly for nearly 50 years.

Clarke said it allowed to her do reportage illustration.

“There isn't a lot of opportunity to do bonafide reportage illustration generally, so you're lucky anytime you get a chance to do it. But this trip to Turkey was just so marinated in history,” she said.

She added she wasn’t expecting the trip to come with so much emotion.

“It really personalized everything that we learned in history. When you’re actually standing in no man’s land — or what was no-man’s land — it really impacts you,” Clarke said.

Though the landscape has changed since WW 1, the historical significance remains.

“Right now it’s all farm land and olive trees, and very pastoral. But all the tree lines were where the trenches were,” Clarke said.

‘A whole different meaning’

Though the trip may be over, it left a lasting impression on the artist.

“Remembrance Day has a whole different meaning for me now, for sure,” said Clarke.

Art also has an important role to play in communicating what she’s seen.

“I think art is such a great way to communicate to other people ideas or emotions that sometimes are hard to tell,” Clarke said.

“That message kind of hit home over and over again throughout the trip that these were just people on both sides, right? And I think that’s the thing that had the most impact on me as an artist,” Clarke said.

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