Shadow Play Redux

As I mentioned in my February post, I have been honored to have my work included in the current Exhibiting Members Exhibition at the National Arts Club. (Open to the public Monday – Sunday, 9 to 5, until June 15.) Please stop by!

I never dreamed of this incredible honor on that sunny day in Vancouver when I was goofing off watching Netflix and saw a captivating shadow on the living room wall.

I took this picture:

This picture grew into a series of 14 images that very afternoon.

I met some encouraging friends who liked the series and encouraged me to submit the work to galleries. So I did!

I wound up having a solo exhibition of this work at the Havana Gallery in Vancouver in 2015, but felt I needed something more visually arresting to add to the 14 images, which were each 1-3/4″ by 1-3/4″. So I created a giant 8’x10′ version of the image!

As an icebreaker, I took pictures of all my friends and relatives at the opening, with their favorite works of art. I turned these images into a video, which was another spontaneous project that still delights my heart when I watch it.

One of the outtakes was this picture of my friend Bruce, holding my sparkly handbag for me. I just love this picture of him!

Flash forward to 2020, when I was preparing for my first New York solo exhibition. I wanted to show the Shadow Play series again, but the Revelation Gallery is bigger and there was a large empty space on the wall.

So I decided to do something with my picture of Bruce, and voilà, “Bruce’s Handbag” became a focal point of the exhibit. I printed the digitally enhanced photo onto canvas, and then embellished the piece with glitter to bring out the light and sparkle on the details.

I also decided to have a synesthesia component to the opening reception, and thanks to the curator Graeme Napier’s brainstorm and my friend Hannah’s and some other musicians’ creative generosity, a sound component was born. We had a minute-long impromptu musical performance for each of the 14 pieces. I projected the images on the wall behind the musicians so that the audience could see the image that was being played.

Everything in New York shut down soon after the opening reception on March 3, so the recordings and photos from that evening languished on my hard drive. I had intended to do a video of the event, but life went sideways.

So here, for the first time, is a video of the musical segment that goes with the blue piece, entitled “Nostalgia.”

The taste pairing with this piece was blueberry port. Just relish what Hannah  Reimann and Steve Sandberg did on their spontaneous collaboration! (The Aeon Ensemble was amazing as well. Stay tuned for the complete series showing all of the musicians.)

Now “Bruce’s Handbag” is hanging on the walls of the National Arts Club. What a difference from the fate of “Summer Piano in Washington Square Park”!

Life is a mysterious dynamic unfolding that continues upwelling like a fountain. I love the adventure of seeing where it takes me.