Prints from my Vanitas and Vanitas II series are now showing at Cafe Koi, which is located at 1011 1st street SW Calgary, AB

The showing runs from May 31 to June 25

Here is my artist statement for the show ...

In a way, my work is a polished descendant of the “face-down-on-the-photocopier” self portraits most of us have enjoyed. Using a scanner is really just a non-traditional form of photography. With this technique you can achieve incredible detail that quickly drops into beautiful shadows. The colour and shadows create an ethereal-type aesthetic, which is uncanny in its resemblance to 16^th and17^th century Dutch paintings of Memento Mori. I didn’t directly choose this technique for the project; it was more of a happy accident. It was the aesthetics of this technical process that influenced my exploration of these themes, and not vice versa. I think this creative process is rare in art making, especially with new media.

A type of Memento Mori, Vanitas paintings from the 16^th and 17^th century were often characterized by a combination of enticing still-life objects such as fruit and flowers, along with reminders of the transient nature of life such as skulls and hourglasses. This juxtaposition was meant to point out the ultimate shortcomings of worldly pleasures.

For this series, I asked women to participate and to include items in their portraits, as a sort of still-life defining who they are. Through their pictured memories, their favourite mementos, or the pleasing petals surrounding them, I intended for these portraits to reflect a personal story of Vanitas for each individual woman. The sensual use of hair in this series is what ties them together, and creates a kind of surreal texture to the work. The Vanitas themes remain present reminding the viewer that vanity is futile. Despite their foreboding qualities, the images remain undeniably beautiful and hint at a sexual tension. Blushing flower petals rustling open and tousled hair could be simultaneously interpreted as either qualities of the Vanitas theme or lusty indulgences.

This series has made me view not only death, but vanity differently, and bizarrely how both are so interconnected. It takes a personal unarming to show these self-portraits, especially in large format. There is no hiding or concealing in these portraits, they are hyper-realistic, so signs of aging and blemishes are on full display. These portraits show impurities, but done so in a graceful and whimsical manner.

Some pictures I took of the exhibitions at the Vancouver Art Gallery ...

My first week in Toronto has been fun, spending some time checking out the city, shops and galleries ...

I checked out a show featuring Saskatchewan artists at the York Quay (Harbourfront) Centre, here is the show's write up ...

COMBINE situates the works of 18 artists from Saskatchewan throughout York Quay Centre. The title joins two iconic references - the image of the prairie farming machine and the assemblages first created by Robert Rauschenberg - to provide a hint as to where the artists are from and what they are up to. Participating artists were selected for their mutual understanding of how the amalgamation of disparate objects and images can create new stories and meanings.

Here are some photographs I took at the show ...

At the harbourfront I was impressed by this wave boardwalk for children to play on ...

Another show I briefly saw was Christina Leslie's photographic series (MISSED) PERCEIVED at the Gladstone Hotel. It showcases multiple portraits and deals with satirical representations, for example the portraits reference the sambo character and representations of othering in media and popular culture. Leslie juxtaposes the sitters actual portrait with their 'caricatures'. Here are some photographs I took at the show ...

Some more fun finds on Queen West + Ossington ...

Here is an artist statement I dug up from a university photography course. I think it still applies to my work today:

Portraiture remains the focus of my photographic work. I am interested in capturing a person’s personality with the use of photography, however, I am more interested in moving away from direct representationalism. Instead I like to explore abstracted methods, because non-representational photography allows me to explore more personal and expressive forms of portraiture, where I can directly influence and manipulate the image.

To begin, I explore the idea of photography as art making, whether this means manipulating the film/photographs through double exposure or with the printing process, such as double exposure, multiple exposure, layering, manipulated negatives and prints, painting or drawing with developer. These types of photographic methods, such as multiple exposure, distortion, reflections, photograms, non-photographic negatives, direct applications of developer and posterizationare are most commonly used by abstract artists.

For example, Val Telberg, born Russian artist, aligned himself with the surrealist painters and avant-garde filmmakers. His photography was largely influenced from painting and Surrealism. Telberg uses multiple exposures in the camera or prints from multiple negatives. This creates a layered effect that I am interested in capturing with my work.

Additionally, Paul Citroen largely influenced my ideas, mainly with the way he dealt with photography. He was a German artist who was largely associated with the Dada group. He studied at the Bauhaus in Weimar which influenced his principles in art making. He was an active photographer and painter, mostly known for his photomontage work. For this, he started with representational photographs and added layers of drawings over top, creating both non-representational and unique portraiture.

Contemporary Australian photographer Julie Brown-Rrap's work reminds me of Citroen’s photomontages. The difference being that Citroen’s layered work uses the true photograph as the first layer or background, whereas Rrap’s photographs of the human body seem to hover over her backgrounds and remain separate. Her use of acrylic, oil and print on canvas is beautiful and her backgrounds have an expressive message. Instead of using paint and canvas, I will try to achieve the same effects using painted backdrops.

My portraiture remains focused on experimentation with both photo taking and print processes, influenced by abstract photography. My series of portraiture makes use of techniques of layering, posterization, distortion, double and multiple exposures. Adding to this, I manipulate the print with the use of applied developer and layered transparencies (like photograms).

Here is a series of portraits that although are non-representational, remain crafted in a way to maintain the subject’s personality.

Here are the photographs from the project:

"But really, I just want to migrate for the next few years, following warm weather and photographing the train hopping youth of america. I think it's one of the most important, overlooked, and temporary underground cultures of modern times...." Mike Brodie

Hobo style! I really admire the work of Mike Brodie aka The Polaroid Kid. You can see his hobo-esque photographs here.

Below is Mike Brodie's Artist Statement...

Maybe I've just become obsessed with dirty cloth & dull rags, objects that have been touched by a million different hands then set back down--right there--just for me. Things that are made by chance or found on the side of a road, rather than bought or sold. What's a story anyways? Why do people tell them?

My first memory was when I was a year old. Imagine that. Lyin' by a river bed, Arizona is hot in the summer, and even worse when you have an earache. One-year-old with no pants on, screaming and crying like it would help or something, my face bright RED. The blanket I was lying on, made of prickly pear green wool. If that cloth was still around, it would tell you a story. But its long gone, underground somewhere, tired.

I've been shittin' and pissin' for 20 years since that day. Most of the time I miss, but I "make photos" now, valued by some. Who are these people? One of my favorites is still that one my mom took, my dad cuttin' into a turkey like a man--in prison since, my grandma laughin' drunk in the foreground--dead now. I still have that one. As for why, who knows? This is where I am and what I'm doing. Everyone I've ever met is responsible for it, and those eyes of theirs--never blank--always tryin' to focus right there on the pupil. It's always difficult to get a good look at both of 'em. Go ahead and try. You'll just end up starin' right at the bridge of the nose.

The photos. I want people to see 'em just as you'd want to tell someone a good story. Nobody enjoys boredom. And when I'm good and dead, maybe my lungs'll still be around, with some words beneath. Everything comes as a surprise--thank GOD.

Mike Reynolds is an American architect that has dedicated his professional life to ecological and sustainable architecture. He uses discarded items, such as pop bottles and tires insulted with dirt to build his Earthships. With rising concern over global warming, Reynolds has become a pioneer of the green movement, practicing these innovative methods since the early 70's.

Edward Gorey has undoubtedly inspired the imaginations of many artists and especially the macabre-style of Tim Burton. His style is very dark and his stories quirky. Here is a sample of his illustrations.

Here are some gallery shots from the That's so Gay III show.

Rachelle Soucy’s Vanitas series uses non-traditional photographic methods, lush colours and intriguing symbolism. Emerging out of the darkened background are not only flowers, fruit and trinkets, but the artist herself. In a way, Rachelle’s work is a slick descendant of the “face-down-on-the-photocopier” self portraits most of us have enjoyed. But by using today’s scanner technology, she greatly magnifies hidden details such as wrinkles and pores on her skin and even miniscule insects which apparently were former tenants of the foliage.

While Rachelle credits Vancouver-based artist Evan Lee and British artist Helen Chadwick with the technical inspiration behind the work, even more interesting is her imagery which alludes to various artistic genres and literature. Rachelle captures the morbid symbolism of 16^th and 17^th Century vanitas still life paintings with wilting flowers, rotting grapes, and an hourglass. The artist herself projects lifelessness by keeping her eyes firmly shut. The vanitas theme reminds the viewer that pleasure is futile and death is inevitable. Despite their foreboding qualities, the images remain undeniably beautiful and hint at a sexual tension. Blushing flower petals rustle open, suggesting a naughty peek under a woman’s shirt, and the flushed skin, tousled hair and parted lips of the artist’s face could be simultaneously interpreted as either qualities of the vanitas theme or lusty indulgences.

I felt that the work’s technique and style could refer to Evergon’s exotic Ramboy series and the recent, collaged photographs of Gilbert and George. I was subsequently reminded of Ophelia, one of Shakespeare’s most tragic heroines, and her mad descent into a watery grave. Most importantly however are Rachelle’s allusions to Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland books. Tiny tea spoons, white roses, seashells, and the infamously tardy white rabbit all appear to be accompanying Alice as she tumbles endlessly down the rabbit hole.

Joseph Anderson

Here are the six works I had in the show - Vanitas series

My process is influenced by Vancouver-based artist Evan Lee. In Canadian Art magazine (winter 2006) there is an article on Evan Lee and his scanner pictures. He sets up still-lifes and uses his scanner as a means to photograph these still-lifes. The effects are somewhat reminiscent of 17th Century Dutch still-life paintings, with beautiful shadows. He uses dollar store trinkets, like tacky silk flowers and plastic bugs, making reference to symbols found in many 17th Century still-life paintings.


When I started working on my artwork for this show, I wanted to create self-portraits incorporating these symbols from 17th Century Dutch still-life paintings or 'vanitas' paintings. At first glance, 'vanitas' makes reference to vanity. I am capturing my youthfulness in the photograph, which could be seen as vain, there are other elements in play within the photograph. Typically 'vanitas' paintings are highly symbolic and are meant as a reminder of the transience of life, the futility of pleasure, and the certainty of death. And it is in these 'vanitas' symbols surrounding my face, like the decaying flowers, skulls, hourglass and seashells, which are meant to symbolize mortality and the passing of life. I am hoping that my photographs show both literally and symbolically like a snapshot in time.


My process of using my scanner as camera was first inspired by Evan Lee. He sets up still-lifes and uses his scanner as camera. I began by scanning objects and then my hands, hair and face. I gradually started experimenting with all the images I had scanned, by combining multiple scans to reveal a larger and more surreal image. By making multiple scans of the flowers, my face and hair, I was able to crop and fit images together to create larger and more dynamic self-portraits. Although the image does accurately capture in fine detail my wrinkles and badly bitten finger nails, I was also able to manipulate it in a way to emphasize other parts of myself, such as my hair. People commented on how long my hair was in some of the portraits, wanting to know if I had been wearing a wig, but it was really just a matter of piecing different scans together to make hyper-portraits of myself.

Rachelle Soucy