Artist Spotlight - Greg Girard

Greg Girard is a Canadian photographer (b. 1955) who has spent much of his career in Asia, first visiting Hong Kong in 1974, and later living in Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. He became a professional photographer in 1987, based first in Hong Kong and later in Shanghai. His work to date has examined the social and physical transformations taking place throughout the region.

In 1993 he co-authored (with Ian Lambot) "City of Darkness: Life in Kowloon Walled City", a record in photographs and text of the final years of Hong Kong's infamous Walled City, demolished in 1992. This unique city-within-a-city was comprised of 300 separate interconnected high-rise buildings, erected piecemeal and without an architect in sight, and housed more than 33,000 people.

In 2007, "Phantom Shanghai", a monograph of his photographs of Shanghai was published by Magenta Publishing for the Arts, and was listed by the Independent Newspaper (UK) as one of the top ten photography books ever published.

"In the Near Distance", a book of photographs of his early travels, taken between 1973 and 1985, was published in 2010 by Kominek Publications, Berlin. Photography critic Jorg Colberg cites "In the Near Distance" as "adding an important new body of work to the canon of 1970s colour art photography".

"Hanoi Calling", published in 2010 by Magenta Publishing for the Arts, is his fourth book, and looks at the Vietnamese capital on the eve of its millennium anniversary.

His work is represented by Monte Clark Gallery (Vancouver

/Toronto). He works on assignment for publications such as National Geographic Magazine and continues to pursue long-term book length projects.

Special thanks to Greg for donating "Lane off Nguyen Khuyen Street", 2009 to Unite with Art 2011.

Artist Spotlight - Samantha Walker

Samantha J Walker is a photographer based in Vancouver, British Columbia specializing in documentary, commercial, and lifestyle photography and portraiture. She is available for editorial, corporate and international field assignments with particular interest in working with humanitarian NGO's in post-conflict regions.

Last year at Unite with Art, Samantha's image of a schoolgirl taken in Liberia sold for $1,035.

This year Samantha has donated another extraordinary photograph....

"Classroom - Zimbabwe, 2011"

Artist Spotlight - Christian Nicolay

Christian Nicolay is an interdisciplinary artist who uses drawing, sculpture, sound and video as means to explore chaos. Chance and spontaneity play a defining role in all aspects of his art practice, from subject to mark making to choice of materials. Notions of childhood and fun are contrasted with other, often darker undercurrents. Absorbed in the idea of the uncertain, Nicolay explores the relationships between order and chaos, and the unity of opposites.

Christian Nicolay lives and works in Vancouver. He received a BFA with Honors from the Okanagan University College in Kelowna in 2000, and has been the recipient of a number of awards including several Helen Pitt Awards and a Canada Council travel grant. He has exhibited and performed both nationally and abroad.

"My art is about paying attention to systematic confusion.

Everything around us can be understood through systems or chaos. I construct chaos. Making sense out of random chaos may seem absurd. Reality is itself absurd. Move away from the absolute and into the uncertain.

I use chance, accidents, and completely chaotic processes of mark making or finding materials in my work. Day after day I find myself battling with the idea that night and day are opposites, yet they flow in and out of one another everyday."

Special thanks to Christian for donating "In the palm of your hands", 2011 to Unite with Art 2011.

Artist Spotlight - Cam Andrews

Photography Services begin with the world and end with an image. CaJe Creative transforms ideas and words into images and stories. Their photographic services incorporate a wide range of analogue and digital cameras, image processing software, and traditional and alternative printing technologies. It is their intention, through photography, to reveal the greatness in every project.

Established in 1997 by Cam Andrews and Jessica Bushey, CaJe Creative is a boutique design and photography studio that specializes in the creation of strategy-driven, results-oriented visual communication and brand development tools.

Special thanks to Cam at CaJe Creative for donating this piece (set of 4) to Unite with Art.

Artist Spotlight - Bill Anderson

The force behind creating Bill Anderson's images was born out of a desire to harmonize elements often avoided in the search for a perfect, or untroubled brand of beauty, and to explore examples of the individual's interaction with the environment. What we're capable of for the sake of profit and industrial progress is well known to the environment, but what motivates the timeless habit of leaving our, often intimate, and primitively creative marks behind on any surface conducive to the task?

With aesthetics being a primary concern, and to overcome the mechanical limitations of a more conventional photographic approach, it was often necessary to re-establish spacial, tonal, and color relationships, by interpreting each important element separately. And so, once reconstructed, the paradoxes of near and far, the manufactured and the organic, the transient and the immutable, combined to create a new context and, hopefully, a heightened sense of place.

Bill Anderson wasborn in Edinburgh, Scotland; he now lives in Victoria, B.C. After spending twenty-five years working with traditional large format photography, and alternative printmaking techniques including Gum Bichromate, Cyanotype, and Platinum, Bill has leveraged the considerable interpretive potential of digital acquisition to realize this portfolio of color work.

Special thanks to Bill for donating: "Yin and Yang of Love", 2008 to Unite with Art.

Artist Spotlight - Davida Kidd

Davida Kidd is a very accomplished artist from Vancouver, Canada, who has received international acclaim for her original and thought provoking multi-media art works. Working primarily with photography as the final means of display, Davida includes her own self-designed fonts and painting as back drop for her photos, as well as installation and sculpture. Though linked to the “Vancouver School” of artists such as Jeff Wall and Rodney Graham, she has, over the course of her career, developed a recognizable style entirely her own, very unlike any other artist working with photography today.

A veteran of more than 150 shows and winner of more than 24 major awards, her work is in more than 40 major collections (and many private collections) around the world in museums and countries as diverse as the important Liu Hai Su Museum in Shanghai, China and the Guangdong Art Museum; Space Group of Korea; Art Form, Mumbai, India; The Royal Canadian Mint: University of Hawaii Collection; Collection of the General Council of Yvelines, Versailles, France; Warner Brothers Pictures, and countless others in countries such as The Ukraine, Bulgaria, Poland, Egypt, and Thailand.

As much as the intrinsic documentary quality and "truth" factor of the photograph has been challenged, it still lends a kind of rational surface, which I enjoy manipulating in order to pull the viewer into my ambiguous narratives."

Davida was recently featured in the Georgia Straight:

Davida Kidd examines the value of art to a society obsessed with consumerism.

Special thanks to Davida for donating: "Zeitgeist", 2010 to Unite with Art.

Artist Spotlight - Norah Borden

Norah Borden is a Canadian artist currently residing in Vancouver, British Columbia.

She graduated from the Ontario College of Art and Design in 1995. Norah has traveled extensively and draws upon these experiences as inspiration for her landscapes.

Her work has been exhibited internationally and is found in a number of private collections. Calona Vineyards features Norah's art on their Cabernet-Merlot in the Artist Wine Label Series.

What is your artwork about (underlying concept, focus, themes, intent, etc)?

On the surface, my paintings depict land or seascapes; however on a closer investigation they articulate thoughts and emotions within oneself and others. It is as if these expressions were projected onto an interior land or seascape. While nature is the departure point, the viewer using the painting as a vantage point, can explore deeper, more complex realms within their own experiences.

What informs your artwork or what are your influences?

There are many influences and experiences in my life which come across in my landscapes. Exploring nature through traveling is a primary influence. My seascapes are reflective of the west coast of Canada with all the intricate islands and passages around the mountains. At well, I paint my memories of watching the turbulent black waves of the Irish Sea. My time spent in the wine country of the Okanagan, Alsace, Burgundy and the Barolo region of Italy, inspired me to articulate the intrinsic beauty of the countryside.

A secondary influence within my paintings would be the appreciation and understanding of the nature of thought impacting ones' personal reality. This is articulated through the expressionistic painting and titling of the work.

Do you feel you need to position your work within the context of art history and if so what's your take on that?

Although I often think of Turner, Whistler and Monet as I paint, my work is based in the contemporary art realm through use of my textures, mineralized paints and techniques.

Is there a trigger or a starting point for each piece?

The starting point for my pieces is generated around a thought or emotion. The purpose is to inspire myself and the viewer and entice them into a land of thoughts.

How has your work evolved over the last five years?

Five years ago my work was abstract based. I was focusing very closely on spatial qualities and energy. Through the years my work has drawn back in perspective and encompasses more tangible land and sea formations.

What is currently the central motivation for or conceptual concern in your work?

The central motivation for my work is to articulate thoughts and emotion by embracing landscapes. It is as if my paintings are internalized perspectives projected onto land and seascapes. For me, each work although mainly landscapes, is a depiction of the human spirit with all its' various facets and conditions.

How does your physical/geographical environment inform the work you do?

I am living in Vancouver because I am surrounded by nature. I find myself mesmerized by the magnitude of the mountains. The ocean can have such incredible fluctuations of light depending on the influences of wind and shadows on the water. I study these effects closely and they emerge in my paintings.

What mediums, techniques, or processes are involved in your art making (and why these)?

By layering mineralized paints, I create a luminescent effect that makes the painting seem alive, continually changing with the movement of light. The optical effects of shifting colours can be seen by having the viewer move from side to side around the painting.

What are your other passions in life and how have these influenced your work?

My love for music and travel has hugely influenced my work. My time spent in the wine country of the Okanagan, Alsace, Burgundy and the Barolo region of Italy, inspired me to articulate the intrinsic beauty of the countryside. In contrast, the compelling black waves of the Irish Sea and the silvery qualities of the Pacific west coast create a moody atmosphere revealing the mystical influences of wind and light on water.

Why are you an artist?

I am an artist because it is in my soul. I see the world in a visual way. I have the desire, dedication and determination to express my visions, inspiring and provoking questions within myself and the viewer.

Interview by: Axis Contemporary Art

Many thanks to Norah for donating "Sea Change", 2007 to Unite with Art, 2011