Scott McFarland
October 3, 2009 to January 3, 2010
Scott McFarland View of Vale of Health, Looking Towards Hampstead, 2007 inkjet print Courtesy of the Artist and Regen Projects, Los Angeles 
Scott McFarland
Boathouse with Moonlight, 2003 chromogenic print Collection of the Vanocuver Art Gallery Gift of Michael Audain and Yoshiko Karasawa |
The rigorously composed photographs of Canadian artist Scott McFarland
explore a variety of environments—manicured private landscapes, botanical gardens, public
parks, zoos and the pastoral fringes of urban space—as sites in which the intersection
between civilization, nature and the particular character of photographic representation
can be investigated. Drawing upon the histories of landscape painting and photography, McFarland’s images are digital composites, the product of several exposures of the same scene over a period of time that are stitched together into a seamless picture. This aspect of the images is revealed through subtle anomalies—such as out of season foliage or inconsistent shadows—that emerge during extended viewing. McFarland’s photographs undermine the traditional attachment of the photographic image to a specific moment and promote the potential of photography to reflect complex spatial and temporal realities. This exhibition presents approximately 80 photographs produced by the artist over the past seven years. It includes images from recent projects such as McFarland’s Boathouse series and the Empire project, which depicts the Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California, as well as a new body of photographs that presents rustic scenes from southern Ontario. The exhibition is organized by the Vancouver Art Gallery and curated by Grant Arnold, Audain Curator of British Columbia Art. PRESENTING SPONSOR:
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