Heritage Apples
Cyanotype mural photograms
Cyanotype mural photograms
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Sylvia's photographic apple imagery shows both scientific principles of light recording and artistic innovation. The recorded fruit trees are large scale photograms and picture negatives.
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L: Baldwin Apple. R: Unknown variety
Below: Pacific Crab apple |
Sylvia's work displays a strong sense of the physical connection between the original subject matter. The trees, sun, and refracted light through the leaves are recorded by the light to create volumetric x-ray like images. These large scale photograms are all taken in situ at orchards.
In this series Sylvia also has been able to consider wider aspects of Canadian histories, for example, how fruit trees are experienced by and speak to different indigenous and cultural uses and needs. Such considerations have opened up her practice to wider dialogue. The project has enabled her to produce a set of striking photograms concerned with both the process of photography and how it empowers viewers to better understand a complex set of histories between land use and settlement.
Sylvia has had a strong interest in local flora and fauna. Over the last decade - she has become passionate about regional and wild apple species as well as food production.
She set up a social enterprise in Scotland to allow a small village to make the world's first photogram based artisan biscuits. The Lumsden Biscuit has gained a strong following in Scotland both among photo art collectors and food enthusiasts.
Her first art studies of apple orchards were undertaken in Northern Ireland in an attempt to celebrate the Bramley apple.
This examination of local culture and apple growing was soon followed by work in Latvia - where Sylvia was commissioned to create a series of apple murals to assist with a town's economic regeneration.
She set up a social enterprise in Scotland to allow a small village to make the world's first photogram based artisan biscuits. The Lumsden Biscuit has gained a strong following in Scotland both among photo art collectors and food enthusiasts.
Her first art studies of apple orchards were undertaken in Northern Ireland in an attempt to celebrate the Bramley apple.
This examination of local culture and apple growing was soon followed by work in Latvia - where Sylvia was commissioned to create a series of apple murals to assist with a town's economic regeneration.