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26/11/2005

Valerie Burton

Patrick Mikhail Gallery, Ottawa

Transitions

Patrick Mikhail Gallery is pleased to present Transitions, an exhibition of new work by Ottawa artist Valerie Burton.

Transitions is an artistic interpretation of international Aboriginal celebration, and features 21 new large-format photographs that lovingly depict and document the vibrancy of festivals in Canada and around the world.

In Transitions, the photographs of Indigenous ceremony and celebration are an artistic interpretation of several festivals and ceremonies, and of art and artifacts of different Aboriginal cultures in North America and New Zealand. Guided by symbolic principles, ceremonies are organized to safeguard and celebrate the culture. Traditional practices, rich in mythology and spirituality, are also constantly being updated for a modern world, in order to perpetuate the society and to integrate young people into historic cultural expression. Although rooted in tradition, ceremonies and celebrations are evolving due to widespread communication among different groups, and other modern influences. For example, as some of these pictures reveal, dance is the most prevalent manifestation of celebration. Participation in dance, among other activities, bridges the gap between past and future to transmit cultural relevance. The photographs in this exhibition illustrate cultural similarities and diversities among Native festivals with colour, aesthetic appeal, and visual impact. The powerful images reveal the beauty and variety of modern Aboriginal celebration.

Artist Biography

Educated in photography in Toronto Valerie Burton received the first Masters of Fine Arts degree with a major in photography ever granted in Ontario. She has been a fine art and commercial photographer since that time, working in Canada and France. Directing a gallery of photographic art, The Burton Gallery in Toronto, she curated one of the first spaces in Canada dedicated solely to contemporary photography. She was an instructor of still photography at Ryerson Polytechnical University and Humber College in Toronto, as well as at Tufts University in France and the Parsons School of Design, Paris. In 1995, Valerie Burton wrote and illustrated an instructional book of photography for children that was a best seller in Canada and was used as a text for adult students. She has exhibited widely in Canada and internationally, and her work is featured in many public and private art collections.

Artist reception: Sunday, november 27, 2005, 1 P.M. TO 6 P.M.

Patrick Mikhail Gallery
2401 Bank Sreet - Ottawa

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