Solo Exhibition of my Shifts; photographing the ephemeral series at Truth and Beauty Gallery in Vancouver BC. SHIFTS, is a series of photographs consisting of garments frozen into blocks of ice, which are then photographed. The deconstruction of the clothing is as a metaphor for the multilayered aspects of the self: seams are exposed, nylon stockings act as sleeves and grasses sprout from collars. Although frozen in time, the garments appear to dance, simultaneously forming and deforming, like unmasked shape-shifters.

5 Trans-mount photographs on plexiglass with hanging system. Dimensions: 28” wide by 48” high each. Edition 1 of 5 each
Titles: Chrysanthe, Clémence, Luna, Maggie, Typahnie

The origins of the word shift, dated form 1590 is defined as a body garment or underclothing, which I interpret as layers of hidden material revealing an authentic self. The translucent quality of the garments in my photographs alludes to the process of peeling the proverbial onion, where the plant materials emerging from the folds of vibrant aqueous colours personify the primordial self. The titles for the photographs in this series relate to female names derived from plants. For example, Clémance is derived from the Clematis seedpods, which I picked from my garden and incorporated into the composition.

As a verb, shift points to the mercurial aspect of ice and the act of transformation from one state to another. Suspended in time the clothing takes on a skeletal quality comparable to a forensic examination under a microscope; seams and buttons serve as clues to an internalized landscape which appears impenetrable one moment and precariously fragile the next. My interest in ice as a medium stems from its ability to capture the inherent poetic beauty of the ephemeral.

Lastly, shift pertains to the current state of climate change and the mind-shift that will be necessary to rebalance the effects of waste and environmental degradation. The aim in my work is to highlight our interdependence with the biological world and in so doing move towards a more cooperative model rather than a dominating one.