Diana Shearwood
Silo N°5, Photographies 2000-2002
The reverence Quartier Éphémère has for silo n°5 has been omnipresent since the founding of the association at 16 de la rue Prince. That majestic and emblematic industrial building, facing the front of the since-demolished entry to the art center, has inspired a number of artists*.
In entrusting photographer Diana Shearwood with the initiative to photograph the grain silo, Quartier Éphémère did not want a mere documentary reportage. Over the course of a two-year residency, Shearwood was given free access to the structure and was free to pursue a personal interpretation of it**. A selection of a dozen of these color photographs was made from more than 500, and these were printed in large format on an industrial support made of vinyl***. Privileging an intimate perspective over an objective approach, the photographs of Diana Shearwood offer us an enigmatic interior tour of the building, revealing its sheer massiveness and preserving its magic.
For the last six years, Diana Shearwood has worked on a series of photographs based from an architectural theme; the transformation of the urban landscape and its modern ruins. Acting as an informed guide, she proposed another reading of these abandoned sites, old industrial factories and dilapidated California motels. Effectively, she has transformed these environmental studies into true still-lives. The first series of photographs from 1998 and titled Zone retraced the metamorphosis of a vacant industrial building into a place of high technology, covering the layout of the Discreet Logic workspace in the faubourg des Récollets.
Diana Shearwood lives and works in Montréal. Her work has been shown in solo exhibitions at le mois de la photo à Montréal, Galerie Eric Devlin and Galerie Luz in Montréal, Stephen Bulger in Toronto and in various group exhibitions, including Le printemps du Québec à Paris, Usines Éphémères, Québec à New-York Silophone, the Kitchen and at Western Front, Vancouver.
* Projections, Atelier in situ, Panique au Faubourg, Tartarus, Thomas Macintosh
** In the framework of Silophone project with the friendly participation of the Port of Montréal
*** This is known as Tyvek, which is frequently used as an insulation material in construction.
THE ZONE
INDUSTRIAL STILL LlFES by Diana Shearwood
Opening Friday February 27th tram 5:00 ta 8:00 pm
Exhibition tram February 28th ta March 29th, 1998 Wednesday ta Sunday trom 12:00 ta 6:00 pm
Diana Shearwood's photographs document the deserted interiors of an urban architectural site. The images, however, transcend the purely documentary, transforming the landscape into pl ayfu 1 studies in perspective, texture, col our and lighting. Often, visual artists choose to isolate and emphasize the lush and fertile details found in the natural world. ln contrast, the images of Diana Shearwood reveal the richness of an industrial interior where the human touch and the patina of time are encountered, confronted and superimposed; where the forces of nature have overpowered the once-inhabited, constructed space, an abandoned space which is about to be reclaimed. The artist uncovers these traces, captures the light, and respectfully acknowledges the forgotten artefacts which inhabit her photographs. These poetic works, which are both raw and nostalgie, are perhaps best described as industrial stilliifes. Diana Shearwood is a Montréal-based photographer. Her work has been exhibited in Canada and the United States and has recently been published in various books and magazines including The Zone, American Photography 13, Monument and Photo Metro. The exhibition consists of 24 colour photos digitally printed on Arches paper (16 37" x 23", 8 24" x 16") and 18 colour photos printed on Mohawk and Luna paper.
The architects responsible for the renovation, Atelier ln Situ, were equally sensitive to the charms of the building photographed by Shearwood. They recently won Save Montreal's recycling Orange Award for preserving the factory's industrial character.
Quartier Ephémère is a non-profit organization committed to promoting and supporting emerging artists, as weil as to reclaiming and re-occupying vacant industrial buildings. The work of Diana Shearwood brings together and embodies these two fundamental areas of interest.
The opening will be accompanied by the launch of THE ZONE book. Dimensions 6 3/4" 4 3/4". 82 pages including 46 photographs by Diana Shearwood.
Additional information available on request.