Afua Arkaah
“What’s left behind”
I’m very pleased to write about my inspirations, artwork and a little detail about myself. The picture of the nose mask shows how the countries around the world have suffered during the pandemic.
Firstly, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Afua, I’m a Ghanaian and also a photography student and taking this course has brought out the hidden talents in me. I had no influence nor any inspiration as to why I created this work, but during the pandemic was a really difficult time for the world and myself as well. So I created this artwork with the scrambled masks to show how we no longer need a mask to socialize and practice distance anymore. I don’t view my work to be a unique one but I feel it takes us back to the past and reflects on things that’s happened.
Bryan Kaliel
“Eye of the beholder”
Ever since I was young I have always appreciated nature and its beauty. My family and I would frequently go camping and explore the wilderness of Canada. But something that I find that people often overlook when they are observing nature is the little things. Nearly everything has its own ecosystem from humongous forests to small patches of fungi. I think it is important that we see these small things and acknowledge them for the beauty that they have.
Charlotte Wandler
Corrupt Touch
The goal of this photo was to put into perspective not just the land around us, but also the damage that is being caused to this land. When going out to take photos I focused on not moving anything around to make the subject, instead opting to photograph the raw effects of our touch on the land. Edits were made to enhance the vision and give a darker undertone to the idea in hopes to give the viewer a sense of dread and motive to notice and take action to change the damage done. We affect the land just as much as the land affects us, growing up and taking notice of the effects made me want to do something to prevent further destruction and the hope of this photo is to move others to also take action. It is hard to notice the beauty of this land when our corruption shadows the light.
Cydnee Neufeld
A Mind's Evolution
I am just a highschool student with a love for the understanding of others and their perspectives. People can be complex, simple or both, and it's the same with their views on our world. I feel the need to express that everyone is different in their own way, and we need to learn to properly understand this, and I represent this through my photos. With my art piece, I collaborated with the aspect of perspectives, and the idea of perspectives is what influenced and inspired me to create this piece. When people look at my art piece, I want them to walk away knowing that people's views of a subject such as “This land” can be completely different from one another. Someone could view the world as bright and colorful, while others see the technology and human made world. All perspectives are different.
Dylan Deacon
As a kid I always wanted to see the world and its beauty, and I'd like to show the kids that are like me, what I didn't get to see. This land is such an amazing gift to us and we should appreciate it more, and the way I want to appreciate it is showing the world how pretty it is. I want my viewers to look at my work with an optimistic attitude like “the earth is prettier than I thought” instead of thinking about the “ugly” parts where there is human architecture ruining the scene. I'd like to change the way people treat the earth. I would like to see all of us treating it with respect and trying to preserve its magnificence.
Damian Allison
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My Art reflects on who I am through regular everyday images, what people see in there everyday lives, and the fact that through these images I show a whole new meaning. It reflects who I am because in all, Im quiet, shy, and creative.
In the photos I have taken, and in order to include some of these things about me, I have taken photos that I think are unique and show a whole new perspective on things that are simple.
For this image, I took multiple types of photos including portrait, landscape and abstract photos In order to fufill this idea.
Esther Bangura
“Seeing Soil”
Originally I had wanted my work to be a reflection of Julya Hajnoczky’s work but I had been unable to gather my desired props so I was unable to compose my work in the way she does. So I went back to looking at the smaller picture and essentially enlarging it which took away from its simplicity but also brought in more liveliness. Since I could no longer stick with the minimalistic image I had in mind I chose to go in a different direction that would bring attention and chose to focus on contrast. So with that as my primary goal I just had to figure out which materials would tie it all to the theme, and what better than the soil that brings life into our ecosystems. The contrast of the bright lighting in the center becoming more dull towards the edges of the image left me satisfied and with the bright contrast of the flower I felt as though my image had come together.
Gavin Hamilton
“Left Behind”
I personally choose to make art as an expression of who I am, or just to have fun. I like to find ideas as they appear, so it’s a very organic process. And the image I chose reflects this. I didn’t plan to find that specific item on the ground. But I did, and here we are.
The only really driving force behind the photos was that I wanted to find the scene naturally. It’s kinda like how my brain works, it’s very idea-driven. I often find deeper meanings to things after the fact, much like the image(s) in question. Which is how the subtle environmental themes came into play, about how nature is having to unwillingly coexist with what we put into it. I’m a firm believer that the best ideas are never strategized.
I’d like people to come away from this with whatever meaning they find themselves. The environmental message I imply doesn’t have to be what you take away from it. Your interpretation is as good as anyone else's.
Hyrum Alejo Lepe
My subject matter is the contrast between nature and man-made structures. When walking around any city there are little hints of nature still around but they’re overshadowed by the many structures we have built around them.
Haley Lennie
Comforting Moon
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The main goal of my photo is to bring people a feeling of comfort, or relaxation. Looking at something like the moon or some other things in nature like the trees, the flowers, rivers, lakes, and plenty of others, can make people feel grounded or in control when things feel like they are out of control. I wanted to show how beautiful the simple things in nature could be and how amazing the connection we could have to nature is.
My subject matter is the contrast between nature and man-made structures. When walking around any city there are little hints of nature still around but they’re overshadowed by the many structures we have built around them.
Indigo Hatto
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The world confuses me. We often look back on the past with positive feelings or negative emotions. We often view the future with excitement or dread. We often live with contentment or dissatisfaction. The conflicting state of the human mind is complex and frightening to most. Though to some, it’s comforting and apparent. What I hope to achieve with my photography is to bring a sense of balance. To be at a homoeostatic level, within my identity and the surrounding environment. To compare and contrast the history and old version of my psyche and Edmonton, compared to now. The modern version of Edmonton, alongside my body, mind, soul, and spirit.
Kaeden Tyrkalo
A Land Divided
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I’m very passionate about the treatment of nature and wildlife. I think that it all should be protected and documented instead of harmed, that ripping entire ecosystems away from plants and animals is a cruel and terrible thing to do. If I could protect it all, I would. The inspiration for this art also comes from a variety of sources. Nature and the environment is a very big influence, and the mistreatment of it is in there as well. I also dance a lot, and in dance you really go through the spectrum of emotions, though mainly sadness and grief, which are the main influencing emotions in this photo. I would like people to walk away from seeing this photo a feeling, a sense of grief from the mistreatment of our planet, and the motivation to try to change and prevent things like this from happening again.
Rory McCarthy
Growth
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When people look at this photo I want them to see that even if you feel broken, there is still beauty and room for growth. The plants represent growth, the mirror is taped to the white board to represent the broken feeling. Growing up I had a very negative image of myself and constantly felt like I couldn't do anything because I was “broken.” After some help and reflection, I was taught that there is always room for growth especially when you feel broken.
Phoenix Phillip
broken view
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When people look at this photograph, I want them to be reminded of the issues with pollution and littering; not just in the ocean but in our public spaces which slowly destroys the beautiful life around us. That is why I used a glitch effect to visually show how the beauty around us is slowly being destroyed and disappearing. Although society has accepted this as an issue a lot of us have yet to do anything about it or what is being done still isn't enough and we need to be trying to do more; which is also why I want this photo to portray a sense of urgency.
