Close Distance presents a contemporary photographic view on the man-altered landscape, bringing together a range of personal, carefully constructed landscapes by 6 local and international artists. Quiet and serene, fused with hints of an intimate longing, these works reference familiar views of seascapes, roadsides, green forests and landscapes whose vastness has become fragile and vulnerable. As continuous urban expansion and technological development increases, our physical distance to the natural environment — and our tangible experience with nature — has become increasingly strained.

While we have become familiar with images, which capture man's destruction of nature, the photographs and video installation in Close Distance invoke a quiet revolution in our awareness, one which creates a longing for and awe of nature reminiscent of the romantic spirit of Caspar David Friedrich. At the same time these artists never lose sight of our fraught separation from the natural world. Their camera-constructed landscapes investigate our relationship with nature, foregrounding the personal while concerned with a broader trend. Fusing past and contemporary approaches, quiet observation with personal intervention, these images transform our perception and remind us of our ambivalent connection to nature.

— Lena Oehmsen

Lena Oehmsen is a German curator and artist currently living in Toronto. Oehmsen received her B.F.A. in photography with honours from Ryerson University. Her artistic and curatorial work often deals with themes of vulnerability, memory and the ephemeral. She has co-curated exhibitions at Toronto Image Works and the Ryerson Gallery as well as exhibited her work at a number of venues in North America including Niagara Gallery, the Rochester Contemporary Art Centre, Gallery TPW and the Gladstone Hotel. Oehmsen's photographs have been published in Canada and Germany as well as received several awards, most recently the German Photographie – PhotoVision Award.

lenaoehmsen.com

The road trip is a popular right of passage for many Canadians. It is a unique experience that simultaneously exposes one to the surrounding world, but creates an entirely autonomous environment that travels along the threshold between the developed and the wild. The feral landscape that surrounds the road and the iconic objects we witness along the journey fill the frame of the window. As a passenger, I sit passively and let the window humble me to the massiveness of land and sky that is Canada as we pass at great speeds. These views were collected during many travels; they are a collection of reflections of the immense world that lies beyond our enclosed vantage points. It is a collection of images that simultaneously honors the artifacts of the land and marks the vastness of space that is out of reach. The road trip moves travellers through the country, but in doing so we find ourselves at the cusp of an overwhelmingly large frontier–a giant country beyond the windowpane.

Using collage, photography, re-photography, and manipulation of media, Becky Comber's photographs combine representations of figures, objects and moments within illusory space and "real" space, "collapsing fact and fiction into windows on the world."

Her work has been featured in contemporary photography galleries such as Gallery 44, Pikto, and the Lennox Contemporary and has been published by the Magenta Foundation in their compilation Carte Blanche and flash forward 2005, 2006, and 2008. She is a Graduate of Ryerson's Image Arts program and works and lives in Grey County, Ontario, Canada.

beckycomber.com

Darren Harvey-Regan, Sticks(7), Sticks, 2005, c-print.
Image courtesy of Artist.

The idea of the encounter is something which fascinates me — the suggestion and creation of some kind of meeting: literally, metaphorically, imaginatively. What does one take away from the encounter? How does it live on in the memory, the senses and the imagination? What does it become?

Sticks presents a series of such encounters between the human presence and an indeterminate landscape. Here the hidden and the revealed, absence and presence, the known and the unknown become interchangeable. The tensions created within the work express an uncertainty in the face of competing ideologies, beliefs and environmental concerns, as well as seeking a means of both connection and engagement.

Darren Harvey-Regan is based in London, England where he is currently completing his masters degree at the Royal College of Art. He has exhibited in the UK through the Independent Photographers Gallery in Battle and the Royal West of England Academy, Bristol as well as the Rust Hall Gallery in Memphis, USA. He has been published in Portfolio magazine, Hotshoe International and the Sunday Times Magazine, as well as The Magenta Foundation's Flash Forward 2009.

harveyregan.com

Virginia Mak, Untitled #7, Hidden Nature, 2003, c-print.
Image courtesy of Artist.

Hidden Nature touches on the sublime and individual's relationship to nature.

This series owes its inspiration to the Romantic Movement, in particular the paintings of Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840). Friedrich's subject matter revolves around the solitary figure in awe of nature and facing the fundamental questions of life.

Hidden Nature brings the dialogue into the 21st century and inquires how the respect for past ideals fit within a modern context. The photographs move through history, subtly noticeable in costume and use of light values, from the Romantic period to the present.

Finding time and space for personal reflection is a challenge. These images attempt to find the sublime within modern society — a space which enables one to look into one's soul and, in the same moment, melt with nature.

This work disrupts the boundary between past and present, reflection and observation, and painting and photography.

Virginia Mak was born in Hong Kong and now makes her home in Toronto. She has exhibited her photographic works internationally and is represented by Drabinsky Gallery in Toronto and Newzones in Calgary.

virginiamak.com

Andrea Mihai, Untitled #1, Line of Sight, 2007, giclée print.
Image courtesy of Artist.

"Throughout history human societies have developed, flourished, grown and then expanded until they destroyed the natural resources essential for their existence."

— Ronald Wright, Author, A Short History of Progress

Advancements in technology have radically changed the human experience. Now, more than ever, we are seeing the effect these changes have on our environments.

The world's cities are filled with high-rise constructions. The views from their rooftops are much like those of an open ocean – tranquil and quieting. The horizon where the natural and man-made worlds meet represents the balance between what we have inherited and what we have made.

Andrea Mihai was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. From an early age she discovered that making images was a way in which she could express herself. Her work explores a variety of themes including the urban landscape, fantasy vs. reality and the tourist snapshot.

In 2008 Andrea completed two picture internships at The Globe and Mail and Canadian Geographic. She has been included in exhibitions at Toronto's Niagara Street Gallery, 401 Richmond and the Ryerson Gallery. Currently in her last year of studies at Ryerson University's School of Image Arts, she is looking forward to building a career in photography and contributing to the arts community.

andreamihai.com

Darren Rigo, Displacement #17, Displacement, 2009, c-print.
Image courtesy of Artist.

Nature is an idea — an idea perceived differently by every person. Likewise, we all collaborate with nature on our own level. The images from Displacement are a document of the fragile unifying moments of that collaboration. Each man-made subject has been manufactured with a short lifespan, inevitably destined to be discarded. Each viewer is familiar with all of these materials (from crêpe streamers to plastic wrap to balloons) and brings their own perception into the way they read the images. When juxtaposed in the natural landscape we can re-contemplate qualities these objects possess. They curiously exist out of place and, at the same time, are at home among nature. These situations call upon the viewer to decipher their individual creation. Are they narrative or symbolic, fictional or documentary?

Darren Rigo was born and raised in rural southern Ontario. The relationship he has formed with the local landscape heavily informs his work. Now living in downtown Toronto and attending the Ontario College of Art and Design University, he regularly returns to the local, natural landscape to photograph and collaborate with the land that means so much to him. His images are an attempt to beautify what we normally view as ordinary while they dissect the ways we are connected to nature.

darrenrigo.com

Carolina Saquel, Un Portrait Peut Avoir un Fond Neutre (Installation view), double channel video installation, quadraphonic sound, 14'. Image courtesy of Artist.

Referencing the static background landscapes in portraiture, this project examines the disquieting "line behind" of Flemish paintings and the schematic concept of space and context. The idea of the horizon and the notion of perspective is linked to the imposed model of seeing the world from a fixed and stable point of view.

Based on this idea, I decided to capture images of the sea horizon in the open sea to record the movement of a line that we suppose — or better, we know — as fixed and stable. This line oscillates and fractures; it moves. And through this movement, space is conceived in another way, and objects and landscapes have to be reorganized accordingly.

In this project I want to reflect on the idea of stability and instability that exists between the observer and the observed, question the supposition that we always see upon a strong platform and examine how that line in movement organizes the frame.

Carolina Saquel obtained a Law diploma before she began her formal studies in the Arts, in Santiago, Chile. In 1998, at the Art School, she started to combine her video work with other media like photography and silkscreen to reflect on the achievements of the moving image. In 2003, Saquel was selected for a two-year residency programme at Le Fresnoy, Studio National des Arts Contemporains in France, which focuses on the crossover between contemporary art and cinema.

Since 2005 she lives and works in Paris, France, developing both personal and collective projects. Her work has been shown in several countries around the world.

lefresnoy.net/csaquel

Tara Bursey, Garlic Gloves, 2009.
garlic skin, corn silk, adhesive.
Image courtesy of Artist.

My work employs the use of repetition to create dysfunctional objects. Through object-making, installation and two-dimensional work, I often explore the formal possibilities of repetition through the creation and destruction of pattern as well as the destruction and recreation of existing objects and systems. These works address a wide range of subjects, from obsessive-compulsive behaviors and body anxiety to workplace drudgery to meditation and ritual.

sitekreator.com/tarabursey
tarabursey.blogspot.com

Nadia Li Chai, Dermoid tumour p, 2006,
serged with monofilament and polyester thread,
18.8"x17.2"x16"

Nadia Li Chai, Dermoid tumour y, 2006,
serged with monofilament and polyester thread,
23.2"x16"x15.2"

Nadia Li Chai graduated in 2003 with a MFA in Textiles from NSCAD University and holds a BSC in Industrial Design from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China, 1993. She has exhibited her work in solo and group exhibitions and been the recipient of numerous grants and awards. She was an artist-in-residence at Harbourfront Centre from 2005 - 2007.

Chet Domanski, Energy Bracelet, 2007–,
production tubing used to drill oil and gas

In remote areas of the Alberta Wilderness you will find the oil and gas wells that keep the province's economy moving. The oil and gas wells, far from the industry's corporate headquarters, are anonymous even to the residents of the province. These locations are given new prominence through the creation of stunning bracelets that are machined from the worn production tubing used at the wells. Each bracelet has a tag with a geographic reference point to allow the owner to find the location of the well.

Chet Domanski, Lacrosse Bench, 2004,
maple, leather and cord lacing

Chet Domanski received his Bachelor of Design from the University of Alberta. Upon graduation, Chet helped form the design organization, MADE (Media, Art, and Design Exposed) in Edmonton, with the goal of educating the public on design issues. His design work has been included in numerous group shows in galleries and exhibitions such as The Smithsonian’s Folk Life Festival, in Washington D.C., The Felissimo Design House in New York, and Toronto’s Design Exchange. When not working on his personal designs, Chet is part of a team at an architectural and interior design firm where he takes part in projects from both disciplines.

thesouvenirshop.ca
motherbrand.com

Barb Hunt, antipersonnel: Bulgaria PM-79, 1998 – ongoing, knitted yarn, life size replicas, 8 x 13 cm

antipersonnel uses knitting to create accurate, scale, replicas of anti-personnel land mines from around the world. Hunt has been exhibiting this work in various settings since 2001. The stark contrast of various shades of pink yarns belies the danger and renders these WMD almost toy-like. The work is poignant and ironic.

Barb Hunt, antipersonnel: United Kingdom DORIS, 1998 – ongoing, knitted yarn, life size replicas, 8 x 16 cm

Barbara Hunt is from Winnipeg and currently lives in Corner Brook, Newfoundland. She studied at the University of Manitoba and the Emily Carr College of Art and Design in Vancouver before receiving her Master of Fine Arts from Concordia University in Montreal in 1994. Her work has been exhibited in several solo and group exhibitions across Canada. She is a professor in the Visual Arts Department at Sir Wilfred Grenfell College, Memorial University, in Corner Brook.

Arounna Khounnoraj, attachment series – pink, 2009,
felt, cotton, thread, 10" x 10" frame

Arounna Khounnoraj, attachment series – red seeds, 2008,
felt, cotton, thread, 10" x 10" frame

I am currently exploring notions of displacement and identity in sculptural form. Works are accumulations of ideas and thoughts like glimpses from your self-conscious: a visual representation of a mental list. Fragmented in nature, each work contains a collage of elements and materials which exhibit their own formal logic while at the same time suggests an object, place or use that is no longer or only partially present, remaining only as a vestige. The structures I create are forms that evolve through a slow accumulation of materials and repetitive gestures. These processes result in small objects assembled together to create compositions and serial repetitions, with each stitch contributing to the work — repetition, pattern and form.

bookhou.com

Candice Ring, Floral Ewer and Trivet, 2009,
porcelain, high-temperature oxidation, L 7.5" x W 5" x H 10.5"

My functional porcelain vessels are influenced by nature, figure and history. Voluminous forms, rich surfaces and reference to 18th century English earthenware all play a part in the objects I make. My processes are similar to that of a tailor; cutting, darting, altering and mending fine porcelain are techniques used to give character and grace to each piece. I make utilitarian objects because I value the handmade. Useful and unique objects are thoughtfully made for daily or occasional ritual.

Candice Ring, Of Soup and Love, the First is Best, 2008,
high-temperature oxidation, L 13" x W 9.5" x H 12.5"

Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Candice Ring received her BFA (Honours) from the University of Manitoba with an emphasis in Ceramics. Soon after graduating, she became the ceramics technician at the University of Manitoba where she worked for three years. During that time, she also worked as studio assistant to established potter — Robert Archambeau — and completed a one-year mentorship with architectural ceramist, Grace Nickel. She currently works at Red Deer College in the Visual Arts area.

My work as an artist is shaped by my lived experience. I create as a form of social discourse, a way of commenting on and connecting to the world around me. I believe it is imperative to examine how cultural and social conventions frame the context of art. My investigations place emphasis on the synergistic relationship between art and cultural studies and the interconnectedness of these practices to the expansive and everyday experiences of popular, social and visual culture. In my work, I have explored themes of identity, gender, place, social structure, consumerism and the vagaries of popular culture. It is my intent to question and challenge accepted and defined roles, traditions and systems. I have focused on both jewellery and the object as empowered formats for social and cultural discourse.

Sarah Troper, Take-A-Number Tickets, 2007,
steel, 8cm x 4cm (each)

I seek to employ our existing relationships to the everyday, innocent or banal minutiae to highlight and examine the politics, attitudes and mythologies of our times. Drawing connections to Craft’s history, expressive material language and formats, I reframe the familiar to engage in commentary and criticism. I am committed to Craft as a forum for communication, a position from which to engage the public in visual and intellectual dialogue. Just as I began with questions, I intend for my work to generate questions. And from this cycle comes dialogue.

sarahtroper.com

Rachael Wong, Conversion (detail), 2008,
blown glass, 30"x30" (various dimensions)

Rachael Wong, Conversion (detail), 2008,
blown glass, 30"x30" (various dimensions)

Rachael Wong received her MFA from New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, Alfred, NY, 2009; her BFA from Alberta College of Art and Design, Calgary, AB, 2003; and was an artist-in-residence at Harbourfront Centre 2003-2007. Her work explores ideas of communication, play and experience.

rachaelwong.ca

My current work deals with transitions or state of change. Transplanting back to Canada from the Southwestern desert was a discomforting experience. This discomfort lead me to think about how one deals with change or transitions. How one survives to cope with unfamiliarity. In the desert I was always intrigued with small plant forms that were unusual, almost strange alien creatures. They had protrusions of small knobs, needles and heavily textured with grooves that attracted me, but were not inviting to touch. These plant life were designed specifically for the desert landscape, their strangeness was formed by their unique place.

The work presented references these alien forms, a way of coping with the feeling of being out of place. The forms have protrusions, knobs and strange nonsensical additions. The protrusions are to keep everything at a safe distance, while the colours attract the viewer although having a strange repulsion. They are not inviting colours but garish, even considered ugly. The forms seem to be altering as we view them, changing into other forms slowly. We change with our experiences and are informed by them. These forms reflect that state of transition – they have not yet been formed completely by their surroundings. The protrusions are similar to feelers to test out and perceive information of their environment. I am in that state of change, and altering...

Taking my work further than ever previously conceived, this installation pushes the boundaries of the possible. Utilising the unique exhibition space of the vitrines, this site-specific installation will challenge viewers’ expectations of contemporary glass art.

Arron Lowe, Altered Forms II, blown glass, 2009
Image courtesy of Artist

The core concept of this sculpture is an examination of beauty — in spite of invasive elements marring an attractive form, does beauty remain? While this remains a root driving force, this installation utilises the specificity of the site to render the invasive elements even more organic. The ability to disregard physical boundaries increases the sense of a foreboding life form that will stop at nothing to permeate the space.

trans- is a mixed media installation that is based upon blown and sand cast glass forms. By manipulating time and space, the viewer will unconsciously reconsider reality.

Image courtesy of Artist.

Image courtesy of First Second Books.

Image courtesy of Artist.

Image courtesy of Artist.

Aiming towards the possibility of social change through art, Shilpa Gupta focuses on the dynamics of power, politics and rapid globalization that lead to social rupture and inequality. She provokes questions about our core beliefs, about how we think and who we are.

Installing Don't See Don't Hear Don't Speak
Photo: Patrick Macaulay

The principle to "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" was made popular in India by Gandhi, in a speech that stood for values of positivism at the birth of a new nation. Gupta's interpretation of this pictorial tenet – the three monkeys – in Don't See Don't Hear Don't Speak addresses her examination of real and perceived borders and collapsed geographies resultant of globalization. The shipping container placed on the shore of Lake Ontario references the long-haul transportation of goods and contrasts with the split-second transmission of the digital images from the artist overseas. This juxtaposition reinforces Gupta's observation that Mumbai, India can seem closer to Toronto than to a remote village a few hundred kilometres away.

Shilpa Gupta was born in Mumbai, where she currently lives and creates interactive video, websites, photographs, objects, sound and public performances.

flyinthe.net