Unfallen opens a broader discussion that extends the idea of ‘place,’ with both utopian and dystopian edges. The impetus for this project is fueled by the rapidly changing environment and technologically enhanced world we live in and alludes to an imagined paradise – caught in stasis between the fall (from paradise) and (what I like to call) the ‘thud’ (hell).

A leading image, Unfallen (boys), depicts two young black boys attempting to do headstands on the beach. It is an image of spontaneous, youthful exuberance, but turned upside-down, it appears as though the two boys are holding up the world. Re-orienting these photographs reinforces the ambiguity of the image, challenging both the ‘truth’ of the photographic image and the accepted order of the world. The gesture re-frames the representation of the ordinary or mundane, providing vistas onto new possibilities.

In other works, a cluster of photographs, criss-crossed lines of highway overpasses in Vancouver, roadside stalls in Ghana, the upside-down image of a palm tree-lined median strip in Mexico, autumnal leaves reflected in a lake in Parc La Fontaine, Montreal, various aerial views of landscapes in Mexico, Turkey and Argentina, describing the surfaces of places. Collapses space and reorients images into a gestural line reminiscent of swirls from a tornado.

By the simple act of turning reality askew, I hope to examine varied notions of perceptions. In an installation context, unfallen creates a world gone awry yet stilled in reflections.  This allows us, for a moment, to perhaps stand outside of our small cyclonic lives and see the big picture of the madness we have created.  Perhaps it is only in a reflected remembrance – that can be easily shattered by a mere pebble – that one can attain, for a brief moment – paradise!

Artwork Medium/Dimensions:
All works are printed on Epson Archival Ink on matte paper
Unfallen (boys), 30” x 40” (76 x 101cm) 2012
Unfallen (autumn), 30” x 40” (76 x 101cm) 2012
Unfallen (pond), 40” x 60” (101 x 152cm) 2018
Unfallen (Tulum Swirl), 45” x 35” (114 x 90cm) 2018
Unfallen (Istanbul Circle), 60” x 25” (152 x 36.5cm)
Unfallen (Installation View), Dimensions Variable, 2018

Exhibitions:
2018 - unfallen (2), Warren G. Flowers Gallery, Dawson College, Montreal, QC
2012 - unfallen (1), McMaster Museum of Art, Hamilton, ON

Reviews/Booklet:
Turbulence and the Diasporic Imagination by Haema Sivanesan, Executive Director, Centre A, Vancouver
MMA Exhibits Mesmerize and Challenge Viewers, The Silhouette, McMaster University Newspaper, Jukubiec, Dominika, Hamilton, ON, January 2012