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Chasing Legends
La Cloche

This series is an exploration of the La Cloche landscape in Northern Ontario, made famous by the Group of Seven. As an immigrant, I am continually in the process of developing my Canadian identity, which for me is rooted in relationship to the land. I wondered what I could create if I connected with the same environments that inspired these Canadian art icons?

I engaged with the land and found myself captivated by the large variety of lichen covered, colourful rocks, which reminded me of abstract paintings…

The resulting photographs play with depth perception. Perspective is compressed, like in abstract paintings. Shallow depth of field, transforms out of focus areas into painterly backgrounds, bringing our attention to texture and form, inviting the viewer to see landscapes of their imagination.

The installation reveals my creative process, featuring 4x6 “proofs” and a large scale “select”, recalling Group of Seven “en pain air” sketches and refined studio paintings.

I painted my abstract composition the way I experienced it while photographing… colours are more vibrant, textures transformed, shapes more clearly defined. Can both the painting and the photograph exist as separate art pieces?

ANNA WILSON

ANNA WILSON