Same but different

Time flies and I'm not even having fun! I'm late posting this link to the group exhibition I am part of at Cube Gallery in Ottawa (my work is the first panel on the left.) Thanks to a travel grant from the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council, I was able to travel to the opening. It was an honour to see my work among that of five other artists who were all using photography in some way to inform their work.

This show is about a merging of aspects of modernity (photography) and tradition (painting) which is one of the cutting edge genres in contemporary art today. The artists' use of both media asks the viewer to consider what is original and what is representational, what is real and what is not, what is tradition and what is modern.

One of the things that is limiting about living on an island is exposure to different types of art and artists. After awhile you get to know what many artists are creating and it all becomes too predictable. It was interesting to see five artists who, on paper, were working in a similar way to me, and then to discover that we were all quite different in how we were using photography. There was certainly a continuum of how obvious the use of photography in the works was. My photo transfers were very integrated into the composition and you had to spend a great deal of time looking to see what aspects were photo transfer and what was painting.

I discuss this in my artist statement...

My work begins with image transfers from photocopies of my photographs. I consider this "the real", knowing full well the limitations of photographs. Through a series of manipulations using paint, mediums, papers and sometimes ephemera, the image transfers are altered in varying degrees or totally subsumed to reflect my memory of the event. These memories are diminished in specific details in favor of complex meanings associated with sensory experiences that evolve during the process.

As time passes what I actually remember from my two weeks at Birr Castle Demesne is fading. With each new work completed there are less and less of the actual photo transfers evident. I am synthesizing my impressions and often adding new information that feels like it should be there. In summary, my process of creating these works mimics the actual process of remembering (and forgetting) over time.

If you would like to explore the work of the artists in more detail check out their websites: Katherine Jeans, Jennifer Lawton, Amanta Scott, Karina Kraenzle and D.H. Monet who is the owner of Cube Gallery.