A Cultivated View. Photographer Scott McFarland creates exacting images that depict nature crafted to human will and desire. A major body of work has focused on Vancouver gardens. On one level, the photographs indicate a state of harmony and peacefulness, while on the other, the overall effect appears artificial.
Photographer Scott McFarland creates exacting images that depict nature crafted to
human will and desire. A major body of work has focused on Vancouver gardens. On one
level, the photographs indicate a state of harmony and peacefulness, while on the
other, the overall effect appears artificial.
McFarland's works emphasize both the precarious balance between human and natural
worlds and how photography's link to reality is both true and fabricated.
Over the last decade, Scott McFarland has produced bodies of work that engage with
different aspects of photography. The Laboratory (2002 continuing) series depicts
photographic processes, while Cabin (2001-2004), Boathouse (2002-2006), and Berlin
(2004 continuing), are studies on place and explore the interrelation of art and
document.
This exhibition examines these concerns within another dominant theme in McFarland's
work; human relations with the natural world, as seen in his Gardens(2001-2006),
Hampstead (2005 continuing) and Empire (2003 continuing) series. Subject matter
includes gardens, landscape views, and animals found in particular sites such as
zoos, farms and stables. McFarland's approach is both descriptive and metaphoric. In
addition to carefully crafting his scene, his choice and handling of subject matter
incorporates elements of photographic processes and the history of art and
photography.
The exhibition is organized by the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography in
conjunction with the BC Scene programming presented by the National Arts Centre from
21 April to 3 May 2009.
Josée-Britanie Mallet
Senior Media and Public Relations Officer tel. (613) 990-6835 fax (613) 990-9824 bmallet@gallery.ca
Claire Schofield Manager
Communications & Public Relations tel. (613) 990-7081 fax (613) 990-9824 cschofield@gallery.ca
Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography
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