ARTISTS

Groundings is a series of images relating on the environmental impacts and invisibility of our changing behaviours on energy-consumption since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Although mass flight groundings have seen CO2 emissions from aviation reduce substantially, this has only marginally slowed the overall rise in concentrations due to large shifts in energy consumption that are now coming from our internet usage. The entire IT sector - from powering internet servers to charging smartphones - is now estimated to have the same carbon footprint as the aviation industry's fuel emissions. Even if you’re not on your device, wi-fi is still active 24 hours a day. Invisibly.

Ghost Towns is a collection of medium-format Holga images depicting unpopulated tourist destinations. Initially, I was fascinated with these captures as ironic, static depictions of locations normally teeming with people. I love that the vibrance and spirit of the people live within its walls; that despite the absence of a single figure, the soul of the city is embodied in the architecture.

It is nearly impossible to photograph the Roman Colosseum without capturing the throngs of people who visit the ancient amphitheatre daily. And it's similarly impossible to stand at the foot of its towering walls without conjuring the roar and cheer of 50,000 spectators amidst gladiators, theatrics and executions. In Jaipur, India, the granite, marble and earth in Mughal palaces appear polished from the constant flow of hands and feet, as people pass through these spaces in acts of ceremony and worship, labour and recreation, conflict and triumph. The Art Deco hotels of South Beach, Miami are an unmistakable mark of class and leisure, and you can almost hear the live music flooding from San Francisco bars as you cross the Golden Gate Bridge.

At the heart, each landmark represents the history and culture of the people who keep its spirit alive. Yet globally, the world hit a stand-still in 2020 and, for a time, these great cities came to a halt, as if the breath and life was literally sucked from them.

Reviewing these works in light of the past year, the images in Ghost Towns mirror the eerie quiet of Pandemic lockdown restrictions and imposed curfews. Across the globe, once vibrant and bustling streets and tourist attractions lay boarded-up, barren, lifeless.

The series Off Days was produced on Toronto Island's Wards Beach during the 2020- 2021 lockdown period. Connecting with natural settings has always been somewhat of a remedy for feelings of anxiety, disconnection and mental numbness. I was drawn to this location repeatedly as my subjects varied.

The Off Days series attempts to portray symptoms of human disconnection in a moment of suspension. Initially, I hoped the series would tell the all familiar story of isolation from others. family, friends, colleagues, peers and even strangers. As I explored further I realized, that the disconnection I was feeling was more than that. It was also about places, time and even myself.

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