Vernissage: Thursday, June 22 at 6 pm
Exhibition: June 23 to July 15, 2006
Exhibition Press Release:
The McClure Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of large format colour photographs by Montreal artist Elena Willis.
The series Naturally Human explores the complexity of the unconscious mind and its influence on our perception of reality. Staged scenes based on the artist’s dreams are recreated in landscape settings, forging a suggestive dialogue between the unconscious mind and the natural world.
The artist states “Naturally Human seeks insight from elements and events that unfold in dreams, the most important source of information concerning the content of the unconscious. The dream-based scenes in this series are projected against landscapes, in order to better place human temperament in direct relation with the natural world. Although human hands have altered such landscapes, they continue to flourish independently from human emotional uncertainty (as they always have). Thus, the landscape manifests a sense of clarity and consistency upon which we may reflect.”
Elena Willis lives and works in Montreal. She received a BFA in photography and women’s studies from Concordia University in 2003. In 2004 she was awarded the Stanley Mills Purchase Prize Award, the Du Maurier Arts Council Grant and the Concordia University Special Project Grant. Elena Willis presented a solo exhibition at Espace 306 in Montreal in 2004.