DENMAN ISLAND — The Denman Island Summer Art Gallery’s third show of the season will feature former Hornby Islanders Dante Ambriel and Tashi Draper, both well-known on the Hornby and Vancouver arts scenes.
This is their fourth summer on Denman at their Swan Road property.
Like many of us when we acquired our property, they were initially unable to focus on anything besides cleanup and renovations, but they have since found the time to go out and, as they put it, “see what Denman looks like.”
They have walked through forests, along lake trails, around old farms, and down rocky paths to hidden beaches, discovering unsuspected beauty in coves and inlets, freshwater creeks, waterfalls, mosses and rock formations.
Most of all they have strolled the fringe of the island, exploring the access points of the Denman shoreline and photographing the ever-changing interface of sea and shore.
They felt that what they were seeing was so extraordinary, with such a magical quality, it deserved something special. Strolling the Fringe is their tribute to their new home and they are lyrical and passionate about it.
They are presenting a collection of 26 20×28-inch photographs with a large map of Denman Island beach access points to facilitate our understanding of where each image comes from and the time of year it was captured.
Each one was shot seven times at different exposures, and the seven shots fused in such a way as to maximize the best features of each for an optimum representation of the beauty of each place.
The photographs are printed on a special metallic silver paper which gives a reflective quality to the image, an almost 3D effect.
One photograph was taken at Gravelley Bay on a sunny day in the herring season. The bright turquoise colour of the water and the reflection of the sun on the ripples where the herring are, is nothing less than magical.
We are so used to seeing photographs on a computer screen or monitor that we now take the back-lit effect for granted. Seeing a framed photograph on a wall normally gives a less luminous effect, but not in the case of these, which seem to have a light of their own. If you are a photographer, you won’t want to miss this show.
The exhibit opens at 7 p.m. on June 27 and runs until July 9. The Denman Gallery is right at the top of the ferry hill and is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. (1 to 3:45 on Sundays).
— Denman Island Summer Art Gallery
