statement

My work, in general, is based on exploring our interaction with everyday forms of visual communication. The subjects of my images are inspired by consumer packaging and environmental graphics. My current project, Flow of Traffic Theory, originated from my fascination with the simplicity and universality of the imagery used on road signs. Specifically, signs whose words and symbols had become obscured or distorted in some way. The value of these signs, relative to the message they once carried, has been lost. They now take on an aesthetic value of their own, either in their appearance, the reinterpretation of their message or based on the context of where theyíre physically located.
In this way, each photograph looks at components of our universal language, altered in ways that lead to new interpretations (or misinterpretations), affected by changes in context. The interesting thing is that these signs are generally overlooked by drivers or they can rationalize or assume they know what a sign is supposed to say, so they ignore it; the sign becomes invisible. Iím intent on revealing the beauty of these objects whose original purpose has been displaced.

bio

born: 1958, Edmonton, Canada

selected awards/honors

Gold Medal Award, Gallery Photographica - New Images Photography Awards, 2012
Society of Northern Alberta Printmakers newsletter print commission, Spring 2009
Alberta Culture Art Project Grant, 1984

selected publications

Camera Obscura, Journal of Literature & Photography, Volume 6, Equinox 2013
Darkness at the Edge, Thom Sokoloski, Exhibition Catalogue, Propeller Centre for the Visual Arts, July 2013
Celebrating Alberta, Exhibition Catalogue, Marjorie Woods Gallery, Red Deer, AB, June 2013
My Tongue All Thumbs, written and illustrated by Gerry Dotto, Slipstream Books, December 1997

selected solo or two-person exhibits

Donít Let the Flakes Out, Daffodil Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, 2012
Crooked Numbers, Latitude 53 Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, 2010
Shame in the Jungle (with Alan Brownoff), "The Works", Centennial Building Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, 1990

selected group shows

PHOTOcentric, The Riverside Galleries, Garrison Art Center, Garrison, New York, 2014
Darkness at the Edge, Propeller Centre for the Visual Arts,Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2013
Gallery Photographica - New Images Photography Awards, Studio 17, San Francisco, California, 2012
International Digital Miniprint Exhibition, Voix Visuelle, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 2010