Vibrant colours swirling through landscapes that drip with a surreal quality describe the newest show at the Kariton Art Gallery: “Out of the Ordinary.”
Featuring photographers Sandra McMartin and Abbotsford’s Phil Dyer, the show is composed of a variety of otherwise ordinary, everyday objects that have been subjected to digital reinterpretation to offer a different view of the world.
McMartin contributes to the theme with a photographic exploration based on reflections.
“Reflected scenes draw me since they don’t always exactly mirror the subject. This medium may emphasize certain aspects of a scene and dismiss others completely. It is this altered reality that was my inspiration for this show,” she said.
Although she has owned a camera for most of her adult life, McMartin has only been using one for artistic expression for the last three years.
She has won awards in the Canadian Association of Photographic Art Print Competition and the Northwest Council of Camera Clubs Audio Visual Competition.
Dyer’s photos involve simplifying a solitary subject by reducing it to a basic line, shape and form, with the end product being a more stylized and contemporary representation of the environment.
He employs bold colours and includes a solitary subject within the environment to act as a focal point in the image.
“(The solitary subject) is a reminder of my own effort to meet and deal with challenges in my life. How often have we felt alone against the world wondering what the future holds for us?” said Dyer, who hopes observers will recognize this recurring theme in his work and possibly take the opportunity to reflect on challenges in their own lives.
The challenges represented by Dyer’s pieces are widely varied, ranging from a lonely Great Lakes freighter facing an onset of a storm in “Energy” to an eagle searching for food in an environment taken over by humanity in “Into the Mist,” to a man making a living in the competitive world of music in “The Entertainer,” Dyer’s personal favourite.
The exhibit runs from Aug. 17 to Sept. 11 at the Kariton Art Gallery, located in Mill Lake Park at 2387 Ware St. For additional information, visit abbotsfordartscouncil.org.