Exhibition: Nov. 13 – Dec. 1, 2024
Opening Reception: Sat. Nov. 16th, 2 – 5 pm
Artist talk: Sun. Dec. 1st, 2 pm
Frances Patella at Propeller Art Gallery – ARTORONTO
I was born in Italy and now reside in Toronto. My photo-based mixed media work explores time, transience and transformation.
I incorporate photographic mosaics to recreate an ecosystem over time. I am inspired by Roy Ascott’s quote, “It is the visual change in the state of things which will reveal their essential reality”.
During my childhood in Italy and during repeated visits, fires, ruins and volcanic eruptions sparked my interest. I was born in Southern Italy in the land between the volcanoes of Mt. Etna and Vesuvius. Fire was and is used in many countries to clear fields, control invasive species and to smoke out your enemies in time of war.
Closer to home, The City of Toronto conducts prescribed burns to regenerate the Oak Savannahs. The urban nature of the Golden Horseshoe has squeezed these rare endangered ecosystems into specially designated areas, including High Park. Fire stimulates the germination of savannah species and controls invasive ones. During the burn events, the savannahs are transformed into ephemeral places by fire and smoke. I have photographed these landscapes, which transition through states of destruction and recreation, capturing serial and incremental changes. In Fired Up, I have used elements of the Savannahs, including burnt wood, to create three-dimensional scenes.
My work shows change over time as I photograph specific places over days, weeks or years later. Often I save film shot during one burn to reshoot sometimes years later under different conditions or perspectives. There’s a drama to misusing film, as you never know what you’re going to get. The emulsion changes with time and the registration of the frames going through the camera twice is random. My process violates classic rules of photography and I exploit these infringements to create with and confirm the transformation process.
I am interested in the multiplicity of images that can be experienced in one place. The mosaic of images shows a change in the environment, referencing Marshall McLuhan’s term, “all-at-once-ness”. Each individual photo has its own identity, and its integration into the larger scene illustrates the movement through space and time. The work depicts the real world but also exists in a different reality or a more fulsome picture of reality.
Frances Patella, born in Italy, resides in Toronto. Her photo-based work explores transformation in the landscapes of prescribed burns. Frances’ work has been exhibited in solo, juried, group exhibitions and art fairs, including Art Toronto. She has received numerous grants for Artists In Education and Mid-Career grants from the Ontario and Toronto Arts Councils. Frances won Best In Show and Purchase Awards for the City of Vaughan juried exhibitions. She holds a BFA from York University, a B.ED. from the University of Toronto and studied Visual Arts at the University of Western with painter Paterson Ewen. Frances also studied drawing and art history in Florence, Italy, through the University of Windsor. Frances’ work has been widely collected in public, private and corporate collections and reproduced on magazine and CD covers.
Frances apprenticed with multimedia artist Noel Harding and was Joyce Wieland’s arts administrator. She is a member of the Ontario Society of Artists, and a long-time member of Propeller Gallery and former Chair. Frances has taught visual arts and analog photography in the Toronto District School Board, and conducted Visual Arts and Alternative Cyanotype workshops in numerous school boards throughout Southern Ontario, the Photo Educators Forum in Toronto and the National Gallery of Photography in Ottawa. For many years, she was a Member of the Board and Chair of Jury and Judges for the Toronto Outdoor Art Fair. Frances continues to be active in the Toronto arts community, coordinating numerous exhibitions and events.
www.francespatella.com
patella@sympatico.ca
https://www.instagram.com/francespatella
https://facebook.com/frances.patella
