"Grain Exchange" runs for the month of May

Last night I launched (with the help of my skilled handyman hubby) a brand new installation project at the corner of Waterfront Drive and Bannatyne. The project is part of the Exchange District Biz’s Pop Up Art program and will be displayed here for at least one month.

The images are printed on a new medium to me, a semi-transluscent paper that glows beautifully when backlit, sometimes called Duratran. It’s a material often used in advertising boards, but rarely used in the city to print photos. A big thank you goes out to Chris at PhotoCentral for trying out and perfecting printing on this excitingly different paper. To make the project work, we spent a few weeks perfecting the printing process, then I cut giant “framing mats” out of foamcore, mounted the prints behind, and hung the whole assembly in the windows. It’s lit from behind with a simple worklight, but has an effect far from simple!

The images glow as if lit up by the sun…which I hope makes viewers feel like they’re standing in prairie field. Here’s my complete artist statement for the project:

At the turn of the last century, the Exchange District was known as the centre of North American agricultural trade. Agriculture was indeed responsible for much of Winnipeg’s commercial and architectural boom and in fact, a key reason for the development of our city from the beginning.

These glowing, backlit images were created in fields near Winnipeg and are meant to invoke the sights, smells, and feelings of a sun-soaked rural Manitoba field. I hope to connect the viewer to the farm without actually leaving the city, while also referencing our agricultural roots and metaphorically showing agricultural as the “beacon of light”, so to speak, that it once was to this neighbourhood. 

 Want to see more? Please take a drive or walk by the building, especially at night to get the full effect! These images are also available as fine art prints for a limited time promotional price.

And if you own a business or organization that would like to feature this or similar images next, please let me know.

My images featured at the corner of Waterfront and Bannatyne

I LOVE doing double exposures, because it opens up the creative process for me. I always said “I got into photography because I can’t paint” (which I’m trying to change, with art classes). But some time ago, I realized that a camera is simply a different kind of tool for me; just like a brush, I use it to create a unique interpretation of the world around me. I’m finding that, more and more, my work is reflecting this abstract, emotive approach to photography.

Because I’m never quite sure how a double exposure will look until I’ve developed the film, it also brings an element of serendipity into my work. I particularly love this image because it features two of my favourite colours and my favourite flower (impatients.) The image does make me think of love…but the explosive, super-saturated version of “first love”. The title is a bit of a play on words, referencing the name of the flower, but also a song I love by local roots group Twilight Hotel. You can check out their tune, Impatient Love.

Now, you photo buffs out there may be saying “hold on a minute…why do you shoot double exposures on film? Why not just combine two images in photoshop?” My answer is that I’ve tried, and it simply doesn’t look the same. When working on double exposures in photoshop, I find that I tend to focus way too much on the look of the image…on things like matching up the shapes and lines, rather than focus on the meaning and emotion behind the image. Plus, I find the subtle changes in tone just aren’t the same with digital.

And for all you analogue photo buffs: this was shot on Kodak Ektar 100 film.

Buy this artwork! Double Exposure: Impatient Love is available at the upcoming Art 4 All auction (read more about it) or you can buy it through my online art store.

Come out to the Winnipeg Art Gallery’s “Art 4 All” auction on April 26th, and you might just see a familiar image up on stage.

I’m excited to announce that my image, “Double Exposure: Impatient Love” will be featured in the live auction at the event.  Learn more about this image in this recent blog post.

Hope to see you at there!

Take 4 siblings, four married couples, two “helpers” (thanks Greg & Marianne!), one self-portrait, one great grandma and one extremely tired baby and put ‘em together in a tight space for an hour with some hot studio lights… *whew!*

…and this is what you get. Yup, pretty blessed to have such an amazing group of folks to call my own.