Liminal/Subliminal

Two of my Australian photos are currently on display at the John M. Parrott Art Gallery at the Belleville Public Library in Belleville. (Link) They are part of the Parrott Gallery's bi-annual juried show of regional artists. The theme of this year's show is "Liminal/Subliminal". My quilt-maker husband, Bill, has a quilt in the exhibit. (Link) It's an excellent exhibit - well worth a visit before it closes on May 31, 2018.

The Parrott Gallery, under the leadership of Curator Susan Holland, plays an important role in nurturing the creative landscape of Belleville and the wider Quinte area. 

Gallery hours: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 9:30am-5:00pm; Thursday 9:30am-8:00pm; Saturday 9:30am-5:30pm. Closed Sundays.

Liminal/Subliminal 

According to the Parrott Gallery's website, "Liminal has been referenced as the threshold between consciousness and sub-consciousness...a jumping off point...[the] exact moment when a change occurs." It was a delightfully vague theme to work with. In the artist statements below, I try to explain how my photos relate to the theme. Enjoy!

“Portrait In Oil”

Price: $250

Artist’s Statement:

The art installation in this image, photographed at the Museum of Old and New Art in Tasmania (MONA link), deeply disturbs me. The installation is in a cavernous chamber that is filled with oil to a depth of 1.5 metres – perfectly calm, flat and expansive. The walls of the chamber are at least three stories high with light streaming in from the glass ceiling. A narrow walkway slashes into the centre of the oil, allowing people to venture deep into the oil field. The walls of the walkway are millimetres higher than the level of the oil. The slightest disruption of the space/time continuum will cause the oil to cascade into the walkway. How can the man in this photo look so serene? When I stood where he is standing, I was terrified. The last time I felt this kind of panic was decades ago when I almost drowned. The installation is supposedly safe – after all, haven’t the engineers and the artist eliminated the dangers? And yet…it terrifies me. A good place for a photographer to be, yes?

The Photograph:

The photo was recorded on February 14, 2018, at MONA, the Museum of Old and New Art, in Hobart, Tasmania. The artwork is “20:50”, an oil installation by the English sculptor Richard Wilson.

Camera: SONY DSC-RX10Mk4 (ISO 800; f/4; 1/80)

The photograph was printed on metallic gloss paper by Mike Gaudaur, Quinte Studios, Trenton, Ontario.

Curatorial advice by Mike Gaudaur.

“Rooftop Ambiguity”

Price: $250

Artist’s Statement:

Ambiguity thrives at the threshold between liminal and subliminal, a threshold where confusion and turmoil may – or may not – resolve into clarity and harmony. It is a place wildly alive with possibility. The woman in this photo faces one way; the sculpture swings the other. The woman’s hair blows freely; the sculpture pivots in place. The woman can walk away; the sculpture must remain. One second after the photo, the woman disappeared, rendering the sculpture instantly less engaging. Such is life, the ultimate threshold of liminal/subliminal. It is this precise spot that my camera seeks

The Photograph:

The photo was recorded on February 8, 2018, on the rooftop of the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (Link), located at Circular Quay, Sydney, Australia. The sculpture is “Composer” by Australian artist Caroline Rothwell.

Camera: SONY DSC-RX10M4 (ISO 100; f/4; 1/320)

The photograph was printed on cotton archival fine art paper by Mike Gaudaur, Quinte Studios, Trenton, Ontario.

Curatorial advice by Mike Gaudaur.