Anamnesis (DK Photo Group)
Grand Opening Exhibit for galleryDK (1332 Queen Street West)
Runs May 1 – June 2, 2008
By Helen Fylactou
The moment I walked in galleryDK, I felt a wave of cynicism. The grand opening exhibit, up now, is called Anamnesis, which comes from the Greek word of reminiscence, or recollection. The title is the exact reason that the general public thinks that art is pretentious. On the other hand, I found the title cliché; which worked well, because so was most of the show.
The overall exhibit consists of five photographic artists – Russell Brohier, Sean Galbraith, Laurin Jeffrey, Steve Jacobs, and Mathew Merrett. Each artist contributes his/her work in architectural photography. The exhibits represent the exact moment where history and our personal memory are connected, or distorted. Photographer Russell Brohier displayed a series of photographs of decayed books. At first glance, I didn’t know what I was looking at. Mushrooms? After taking a step back (and reading the title), I realized that the distorted perception was actually books. Using a telephoto lens and saturating the colours, Brohier creates interesting patterns and textures, but what his series lacks is something more thought-provoking than a burnt-up book. His technical skills were there, but the content-despite all the textures, patterns and idea-did not convey reminiscence for me.
Cynicism aside, I did find one artist whose work stood out and produced conversation. Laurin Jeffrey’s photos were fantastic, and not just in comparison to the other work. My favourite photo was of a doorway, shot in colour. In the centre, red, green and blue all meet to connect the decaying building, the trees and a building outside. There was an interconnectedness that I couldn’t feel in any other photograph. The division of thirds in this photo makes the audience eyes flow from left to right, stopping at the open door. Jeffrey’s photos make the exhibit visit-worthy and made me remember why I enjoy going to these things in the first place.
Thank you for your kind words, too bad for Russell… But we would like to invite you to come to PhotoLab on Dec 4th, a somewhat different show. We are letting anyone bring anything, and hanging it. Art for the masses, by the masses.
Come by and say hello, see what you think.
Thanks!