Listen to this article
Estimated 1 minute
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.
It all started with a dare.
Artist and photographer Maria Teresa Allaire spent 12 years documenting her hometown and the people who make Kirkland Lake the place it is today.
The end result is The Kirkland Lake Project.
PHOTOS | Here are a few photos from the collection:
In the photos and accompanying essays, Allaire tells the story of the mining town and how it shaped her. She reflects on her complicated relationship with Kirkland Lake, moving there as a pre-teen, five years after her mother’s death from breast cancer.
Allaire told CBC’s Morning North her views on Kirkland Lake have softened over the years. She hated the town when she first moved there, but has since come to appreciate the qualities it instilled in her.
“They [her subjects] all showed me that Kirkland taught me more than it took from me,” Allaire said.