Deborah Kanfer - over exposed

Geometrics 2011

2011-12-09T17:04:00.000-08:00

I find geometric lines very attractive; I am constantly drawn to them In this instance, the geometric lines of the blinds casting the geometric lined shadows on the geometrically splayed plant leaves creates a bit of a geometric puzzle with the objects displayed homogeneously within the image

Tunnel Vision 2011

2011-12-09T16:59:00.001-08:00

Last year around this time I was staying in a Victorian style house while on a one wee artist residency program with Sparkbox studio. An opportunity they awarded me and proved to be very productive. I loved the interior structures of the accommodation space,and how certain fixtures and the available light cast such interesting ambiant light. This image in particular captures the latter.

The Congregation 2011

2011-12-09T16:54:00.001-08:00

Similar to the previous post, this is another building I walk past every morning to the subway The gutters and window sills are occupied by this congregation of pigeons. Little does the traffic, subway rumble, crowds of people walking in out out of the subway disturb them, as each and every morning, I find them sitting perched above continuing on with their daily business.

Publicis 2011

2011-12-09T16:42:00.000-08:00

After almost a year of walking past this building on my way to work every morning, I can't help but look up and admire its grand stature against the sky with the bright red lettering reading 'Publicis'. I finally decided to photograph this construction, and this is the final product. The building speaks for itself.

Thai Spring Roll 2010

2011-04-22T13:01:00.000-07:00

The Annexe - Bloor st and Bathurst st, Toronto. This work continues to cover the theme of living spaces, landmarks and city scapes.

Harbourfront Centre 2010

2011-04-22T12:31:00.000-07:00

I attempt to experiment with sketching in creating this mixed media piece The photographic cutout juxtaposed against the sketch of 'what is missing' almost possesses the ability to create an illusion or a 'trompe l'oielle' in having to re-view the image in determining whether or not the photographic section of the work, is in fact a photographic image, or drawing. However, it does not take very long to distinguish which is which, just a mere 'double take' is sometimes required.

Home is in the Eye of the Beholder 2010

2011-04-22T11:56:00.000-07:00

This is a theme that I am revisiting. A continuation of a body of work stemming from similar ideas to that of the work 'City of Saints' 2006 Its a continuing focus on spaces pertinent to my living spaces at this time. And intense reworking of the images is involved demonstrating a sense of congestion yet freedom of big city living. Here, I display the one of Toronto's most well known areas and tourist spots - the Toronto Harbourfront. I will continue to pursue this theme in future work, for now, Canadian based, with the hope of eventually expanding my living experiences across the globe.

Milk Moustache (#2)

2010-10-04T13:43:00.000-07:00

A continuation from the prevous image.

Milk Moustache

2010-10-04T13:37:00.000-07:00

This image displays an objective and literal view on the facades of our global society.

Wolfboy by Mnemonic Productions

2010-08-14T10:08:00.000-07:00

Come by the Annex Theatre in Toronto where you can immerse yourself among Toronto's talent where a group exhibition will be on prior to the live production of Wolfboy by Mnemonic Productions. See above for details.

Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition 2010

2010-06-04T11:08:00.001-07:00

Turquoise section booth number 522.
Hope to see you there!

Be sure to come check out Toronto's artistic talent at the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition this summer. Above are the details for the weekend. Come find me in the turquoise section booth number 22.

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2010-04-13T15:28:00.000-07:00

Another exhibition is on the way for Toronto's Contact 2010. Be sure to check out Visible Vestiges at Gallery 1313, Queen st W. And as always, feedback is always welcome and encouraged.

http://www.pbase.com/connections/visiblevestiges1

Land of the 1970s

2010-04-13T14:38:00.000-07:00

These images are representative of an abyss or void within history. Memories and thoughts live on in our minds, yet there are always one or many details missing from one's mental picture. Whether significant or not, we are always unsure of the past no matter what memory preservation one tries or attempts to maintain.

Alter Ego

2010-04-13T08:19:00.000-07:00

Alter Ego displays and explores the fragility and oscillation of the physical, metaphysical and and time.

Old Boys

2010-04-02T12:19:00.000-07:00

'Old Boys' makes reference to the life that was once lived within an educational institution; school, university, etc. It makes reference to a time of change and vulnerability. One of life moulding qualities. A time that one reminisces over, whether good or bad. This time can still be a vivid memory, yet over time and inevitably so, these memories become disrupted, distorted, concealed or revealed from the imposition of certain influences, beliefs and experiences.

Upcoming Exhibition

2010-02-25T19:31:00.001-08:00

Drop by Gallery 44 in the 401 Richmond building at Spadina and Richmond for some drinks and my exhibition opening night.

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Gallery 44 Centre for Contemporary Photography 30th Anniversary exhibition

2009-12-02T16:40:00.000-08:00

Stop by Gallery 44, 401 Richmond st for the celebration of the gallery's 30th anniversary and the opening of the member's exhibition focusing on work that has been produced within the gallery's facilities in the last 30 years. Thursday December 3rd, 6pm-10pm. Hope to see you there.

Decomposition

2009-12-02T15:05:00.001-08:00

This series of work stems from my other works as variations of each other, as you most likely have noticed. With the incorporation of foreign materials (white silhouetted entities imposed onto the figures) my intent in doing so was to portray a type of decompositional property or halted activity within a material manner. Thus furthering the notion of the metaphysical and branding it physical, as well as blurring the boundaries between what is there and what isn't.

Fibres

2009-11-18T07:54:00.000-08:00

Fibres represents the literal meaning of both the interwoven fibres of tactile materials as well as thought, time, memory and history. I have amalgamated these entities in such a way that depicts a kind of merging of what we, as the viewer, know, or what we think we may know, as well as what is true or think to be true, yet contradicting that with the 'out of focus' nature of memory and history within itself we could almost arrive at the conclusion that nothing is tactile or concrete.

Art off the Lot

2009-10-22T06:00:00.001-07:00

Be sure to check out this year's Art off the Lot art show and sale.
Showcasing an array of different artist's and their work including myself, it's a great way to spend your day. Only on For the weekend of November 5th, it's definitely something not tone missed. Hope to see you all there!

Impressionable Presence

2009-09-16T07:58:00.000-07:00

These images emphasize the inversion of being and non-being. As an extension of my latest 'Untitled' Lumen print series, these images focus on the negative/positive inversion. What is real and what isn't.

Traces

2009-09-16T07:50:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure about this series...how about you let me know what you think. To me, at first glance, it resembles a trace of sorts. Perhaps the physical body, or the metaphysical presence of someone or something. I'd love to hear what you think.

Parallels

2009-09-15T08:51:00.000-07:00

'Parallels' suggests the the belief or possibility of a parallel universe. Again emphasizing the unknown through a sequence of binary opposites and dialectics, I pursue my exploration into the past and present, known and unknown, physical and metaphysical, presence and absence as much to my ability as possible. However,the struggle to find answers continues...

Cameo

2009-09-15T08:41:00.000-07:00

The title 'Cameo' was chosen due to the visual evocation of the subject matter. Like cameos on jewelry, I feel these images mimic a similar effect in its Victorian-'esque' type style, as well as in its blurry/hazy appearance/presence. There is slight detail that some may be able to make out, but that others also may not.

Russian Dolls - Inverse

2009-09-02T13:10:00.000-07:00

These images represent change and growth. An old friend said "The only thing that is constant in life is change"...well said.

Untitled

2009-09-02T12:51:00.000-07:00

These images are the daylight exposed versions of the similar black and white works. To read more, please see the last post made on July 28th 2009

Masquerade

2009-09-02T12:36:00.000-07:00

These images are a literal portrayal of the concealing and revealing nature of my work. The subject is further concealed by the layering of foliage cutouts placed as it is almost attached, and maybe still growing within, and on the subject.

Sunnyside Beach Juried Art Show & Sale

2009-08-29T09:09:00.001-07:00

Come check me out at:
Sunnyside Beach Juried Art Show & SaleAugust 28 - 30, 2009 Friday from 6 p.m. Opening Reception Saturday 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Show & Sale | 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. Art Soirée; free admissionSunday 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Show & Sale Continue; free admission@ Sunnyside Pavilion1755 Lake Shore Blvd., Toronto

The inaugural Sunnyside Beach Juried Art Show & Sale is a three-day fine art event that takes place in the historic Sunnyside Pavilion on Toronto's waterfront from August 28-30, 2009. It provides a showcase for approximately 70 dynamic emerging and established artists, and features painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, fashion, and jewelry, alongside live music and art performances. So, join us! Meet the artists, support their practice, and purchase high-quality juried works, all at the spectacular Sunnyside Pavilion. Free admission. Rain or shine.

PHONE: 416.622.7077 416.522.4291
WEB: www.artinitiatives.ca

Metamorphosis

2009-08-25T18:41:00.000-07:00

Just found a great application for the iPhone. It's a Photoshop-'esque' type gadget, and as you can see, I just love the charcoal drawing filter, and of course applied to a few of my images. let me know what you think.

R.I.P

2009-07-28T11:57:00.000-07:00

The black silhouettes juxtaposed with the white moth and and flower, for me, symbolizes the decompositional process of the body once buried, as well as what people do in a time of mourning, of course giving flowers to loved ones in mourning. However, in the Jewish faith, one is not supposed to give flowers, but to place a stone or rock on the burial sight to commemorate the ongoing memory of the one that was lost.

For me, these images represent a type of loss, or death of memories that never truly existed for me. The ethereal quality of these images represent a sort of silence in my search for answers, however, for as long as I will be searching, inevitably, I will not ever be able to find a true answer.

There But Not There

2009-07-28T11:37:00.000-07:00

These images have more of a dark spooky surface impresstion to them. Again in emphasizing transience, this is more directed towards the spiritual world, that is if there is one at all. Its almost a disappearing act, these images are clear yet unclear, revealed yet concealed. We can make out a faint image, but it is not 100 % clear. The search into the past continues.

Russian Dolls

2009-07-28T11:22:00.000-07:00

Images of images; my usual forte. These images portray the concealing yet revealing nature of life after death, or a concept of this aspect that we all wonder about, but are never able to truly know about. The metaphysical life of a past being, if at all.

The rounded blurred edges of these silhouettes almost give the subject a tangible quality, hence the title Russian Dolls, as these images, for me, seem to portray that cosmetic look of a perfectly manicured object, yet beneath all the layers, a truth of some sort is eventually revealed.

Untitled

2009-07-28T10:58:00.000-07:00

Playing on the Bio-degradable theme of transience, I have created these images through a layer process of other found images as well as foliage, insect and bird cutouts to further emphasize the decomposition elements in humans not only physically, but also mentally

Freedom Clothing Collective - Exhibition 2009

2009-07-06T09:51:00.000-07:00

939 Bloor St W, in between Ossington and Dovercourt Rds.

You will be able to see some of my work....yes the originals, up on display at Freedom Clothing Collective only for a couple more weeks. Its something not to be missed...if I may say so myself.

Its really easy to get there by subway, and really cute vintage boutique too. If you do make it out there, let me know what you think. I always love to receive feedback.

Untitled; In the Wild

2009-05-20T13:15:00.000-07:00

The above images stray from my usual workings of manipulated and re-worked found images and objects. I will leave these images open to your interpretation, and would love to hear it too.

Odds and Ends

2009-05-20T12:35:00.000-07:00

A scattered collection of belongings from my grandmother. These items possess a mundane quality pertinent to their time of function, however, these mundane items are invested with a wealth of history that one is not quite able to determine. The partial concealment of these items within each image, displays the cryptic qualities of the unanswered questions that my history beholds.

Keepsakes

2009-05-20T12:21:00.000-07:00

Keepsake displays the euphoria of sentimentality. These images capture an intense personlised history that what is totally unknown to one, is so closely familiar to another. My quest in searching for answers pertaining to my history continues in my drive to dig deeper into the mental and tactile imagery, as well as the metaphysical world of the unknown.

Impressions

2009-01-14T12:37:00.010-08:00

These photographs remain as impressions that engender a sense of memory, ideas and beliefs of which will always remain within the realm of uncertainty.

In creating this particular series, I have allowed and encouraged myself to experience elusive glimpses into my past only to push me further into this historical void that I have yet to discover and resolve.

This series of four is an extension to the previous series of four.

The Graduate

2009-01-14T12:11:00.009-08:00

Impressions: n. 1. effects produced on the mind. 2. uncertain beliefs, ideas and memories
3. imitations of a person. 4. the impressing of marks.

Photographic images tickle the viewers mind with the impression that they are fact(s) which the viewer begins to believe are true.

This series of four, is part of a bigger series of twelve.

Young Lady

2008-11-07T12:17:00.004-08:00

...This is a continuation from the last piece.

Band Boy

2008-11-07T11:45:00.009-08:00

My work is very much influenced from Surrealism. Exploring the metaphysical world that continues to deny entrance to the physical, one is only able to explore this realm through the subconscious. A state of mind that one is unable to control.

Standing to Attention

2008-11-07T11:38:00.008-08:00

This work plays on the effects and notions of transience. The Figure fades into the background as though memory would within one's mind.

Once Upon A Time...

2008-11-07T10:44:00.011-08:00

Once Upon a time alludes to a simpler time in one's life, an adolescent time. These images portray my parents as children, as well as other distant relatives. Through these images, the vivid reality of today merged with the unclarity of the past creates a metaphysical barrier from delving to deep into the past. Through this constant struggle to search for something that one could never truly gain any concrete answers, I am able to continue to re-construct images into a formulated and fabricated memory.

Transience

2008-11-07T08:54:00.013-08:00

Here I have created a series of nine potraits. All of these people are distant relatives stemming from my father's side.

In Roland Barthes's Camera Lucida he makes reference to the medium of photography as capturing a second in time, in giving the subject matter an eternal presence in it's everlasting halt. In these images, I feel that I am playing further into this concept by in fact giving the content a second chance. That time that seized for that second has been seized yet again, and can thus continue to create a ripple effect in continuing to seize over and over again to infinity.

Opposites

2008-11-07T08:23:00.009-08:00

This series of six represents the element of the unknown and metaphysical. The opposites in tonality plays on the notion of binary opposites and the bizzarro world, as well as the frustration in pursuing the exploration of these worlds further but never quite being able to succeed in doing so.

Untitled; Euphoria

2008-11-07T08:06:00.009-08:00

This work was created from three found images of my mother during her university days. The blurryness of the fingers juxtaposed against the rigidly sharp background plays on the dialectical nature of the theme and of course transience as an ongoing theme throughout this body of work.

Pre-Reflection

2008-11-07T07:17:00.017-08:00

In this work, I attempt to contextualise the pose. In doing so, this work captures the pre-reflective stance. i.e. the body as object prior to the awareness of the body as a thinking or reflective subject.

Age of Innocence

2008-11-07T06:54:00.009-08:00

These three images are of my father as a child. Stemming from the Momento Mori theme, this work reflects a loss and ever lasting search for identity and clarity, yet is never fully acheived, and in some cases, fabricated.

Bio-Degradable

2008-08-08T06:02:00.001-07:00

The leit motif - Momento Mori- [Latin: remember you are mortal] is the corpus of my work. Photography poses an abrupt halt in time passing and captures a second of reality that is frozen in time, a moment preserved.

I work with and manipulate found images and negatives representing my family history that allows me to explore a time that is unknown to me.

The formulated images are still undeniably a formulated “memory” but through this process, a deeper understanding of these memories emerges within.

A fusion of dialectics: past/present, old/new, mortal/immortal, static/mobile, creating a contemporary collaboration - a process of manipulation that attempts to fight the decay of transience.

Untitiled, Silhouettes

2007-07-03T23:17:00.000-07:00

This series of four are the re-photographed and enlarged variation of the first posted series of three. As one can see, there is a drastic change from the original images when re-photgraphing, enlarging and printing in colour. The pinkish brown background, has now mutated into a blue/green/brown mergence of colour.

These images have been enlarged to 50X60cm sized prints. This size, I feel, adds to the dramatic effect of the series as a whole.

Unititled, Inverse

2007-07-03T23:03:00.000-07:00

Again, these three images are also a part of a series of six. The figures in the centres of the images are the cutouts (silhouettes) from the images previously posted. These are the inverse of the latter.

I have juxtaposed the figures against a clean white background for the representation of positive and negative. The pristine shapes against the white background is representational of memory that is triggered when viewing these images.

Again, as time passes, one is able to remember a person that no longer exists, however one may struggle in recollecting personal traits and characteristics that that particular person posessed while still existing. Thus representational of the white background. i.e. something against nothing.

Untitled

2007-07-03T22:44:00.000-07:00

These three images are part of a series of six (please note that the works I have posted thus far, are part of the abridged version of my portfolio. More are to follow). This was the start of a corpus of works that earned my distinction as my final results for the completion of my Fine Arts degree in photography.

I like to term this creative process the 'sun exposure' process. It was a process that was discovered through mere experimentation. The result of the sun exposure process was a pinkish brown mergence of colour (as you can see). This was accomplished by the transferal of sunlight through negative to paper.

The blurriness and illucidation of the pinkish brown coloured background is representational of an unclear past, or history. The black sillhouette portrays the absense of being, as well as more personally, a particular being, a being that has now become estranged in my life as I know it, as time has past. The combination of emotions that is portrayed by the stark sillhouette against the blurred backgroud, plays on the binary opposites of clarity and confusion, as well as a kind of ignorance and indirect knowledge (i.e. of one's history).

Momento Mori

2007-07-02T02:09:00.000-07:00

This series combines both my Mother and Father's family. As you can see, I have used cutouts, and have juxtaposed them against relating backgrounds to one another. I have manipulated these images with the intention of portraying a type of layering process. Again, making use of the dialectics of absense and presence, past, present and future.

The dark sillhouettes in the background of each image represents the void to which opens up a completely different part of my life's history that I will always be unclear about. Because of this, I will only ever be able to explore this matter to a certain degree, thus not ever able to exceed the boundaries of time.

Imago

2007-07-02T01:10:00.000-07:00

By this stage, we, our third year class, were now responsible for the continuation of the production of our own portfolios as far as themes and projects were concerned. We were now responisible to build our own portfolios at our own accord. I was drawn to the 'momento mori' theme, therefore I decided to continue building on this theme, especially since I had the resources that would source my portfolio for my end of year exhibition.

My great uncle was a professional photographer, and thanks to him, I have utilised his old negatives and images in creating works of my own. Again, juxtaposing the old with the new, there is also a metaphysical connection of that dialectic between the both of us, thus adding a sense of absense, but simultaneously, also a presence.

Most of the images (including these ones) include my Father's family, and for this very reason, I decided to entitle my portfolio "Imago"; imago noun
1. (psychoanalysis) an idealized image of someone (usually a parent) formed in childhood.

Family Portrait

2007-06-28T00:35:00.001-07:00

The theme for this project was 'momento mori'. Our task was to go out and find whatever old family photographs, negatives and belongings, that dealt with family memories, and to rework these objects into new images thus incorporating the old with the new.

I came across these two old family portraits that were taken from when we were on sabbatical in North Carolina, Chapel Hill, in the States. I felt that, with these ridiculous looking photographs, I should emphasize the 'kitsch' and 'tackiness' of it's aesthetic. It was merely a process of manipulation that was undergone with the use of the original photograph. In this way it portrays this image as a type of farce, or play on a type of reality that was experienced during that time, and a reality that is still very much in motion to this day.

These images are a metaphorical parody on commercialism and pop culture, and in representing this, I decided to utilize subject matter particular pertinent to my family history, thus triggering the memory of a certain time in my life.

These images were the starting point of a corpus of work that I created for my final year portfolio involving the manual manipulation of found images, objects and negatives.

City of Saints

2007-06-27T01:04:00.000-07:00

This work was a third year project, the theme was 'suburbia'. I grew up in Grahamstown, a small town in the Eastern Cape, South Africa where the city center and commercial areas are merged with the suburban. Christianity is the predominant religion within this small town, which has an abundance of churches and chapels. As a Jewish child, I was educated in an Anglican school, where I had to partake in chapel services, and other religious activities, which were compulsory for any student that attended the institution, regardless of one's own religion.

For my representation of 'suburbia', I decided to create an image that I felt best represented Grahamstown in light of these religious aspects. I created a collage of all the places of prayer (majority Christian churches and chapels) within the town. If you are to look at the image more closely, I included the minority i.e. the temples, which consisted of only two (one on Rhodes University campus, and one in the Somerset Heights suburb), as well as the one and only synagogue in the town, which I attended for significant holidays and weekly Shabbats.

I placed the synagogue in the center of the image to portray my religion, its minority within the town, and with the churches and chaples surrounding my particular place of prayer, this format was intended to signify the influences from other people I had to endure while growing up. Thus this work not only represents the theme of 'suburbia', but also could be considered as a metaphorical self portrait.

Suburbia

2007-06-26T18:48:00.000-07:00

This series of two also dealt with the theme of 'suburbia'. As a second project to the theme, I decided to focus on what was most obvious to me as characteristics of suburban life, or of suburban life as I knew it. The images are set in an old friend's house that I would frequently visit as a young child. In my eyes, her linoleum kitchen and bathroom floors, were vivid characteristics of a suburban house hold.

Please note:that due to the transferral of images from various sources, the inequality of the scale that is portrayed within the work's entirety, in the post, does not display the true scales of the hard copies.

Missed Encounter

2007-06-26T18:13:00.000-07:00

This work, also a third year project, fell under the theme 'missed encounter'. One was encouraged to create images that portrayed a kind of trace, or a past presence. The evidence of an entity that was once, but now past. This work consists of a series of six images. Each image portrays a close up of various surfaces. The residue left behind on these surfaces from previous activity is evident.

Missed Encounter - photocopy on Fabriano

2007-06-26T17:16:00.000-07:00

This work is a variation of the previously posted project 'Missed Encounter'. For experimental purposes, I was interested in the end result if one was to photocopy a photograph onto Fabriano paper. This was my result.

Pacifism

2007-06-25T18:33:00.000-07:00

This next series of work, is stemmed from the previous works "Letting Go". The subject matter portrays a magnified image of the safety blanket I had as a child. The detail of the fibers from the blanket displays the wear and tear of time and age, as well as representing the actual element from the blanket that particularly pacified me as a child, that is fluff.

Although this object was an entity of pacifism, the portrayal of the object in these images reflects a kind of tension towards the viewer. The stark whiteness of the blanket (or what was left of it) juxtaposed against the pitch black background merge into an image of destruction. The torn pieces strewn over the page, at face value, display a sense of anxiety thus being the result of one eliminating an object (or any object used as a pacifier for that matter) from one's day to day life. The dialectic of old and new, anxiety and pacifism are strong emotions that are vividly displayed within these images.

Please note:that due to the transferral of images from various sources, the inequality of the scale that is portrayed within the work's entirety, in the post, does not display the true scales of the hard copies.

Safety Blanket, Letting Go

2007-06-25T02:51:00.000-07:00

This project involved a photographic process, that results in the creation of photograms. It is a simple process, that does not require a camera, film, nor does it require a photographic enlarger.

I decided to focus on something that was most meaningful to me, and that was invested with much of my emotion and sentimentality from my life. This being my childhood 'blanky', my pacifier at a young age. These images, a series of four, basically portrays the emotion and growth of 'letting go' as one ages. The tension of the harsh edges and dense shapes, add to the emotion of absence, exposing a void that now needs to be filled. Furthermore, the reduction from a whole blanket to a rag adds to the tension of a new found theme of growth and decay thus portraying the binary opposites of the passing of time.

Please note: that due to the transferral of images from various sources, the inequality of the scale that is portrayed within the work's entirety, in the post, does not display the true scales of the hard copies.

There Once was a Girl that Swallowed a Butterfly

2007-06-25T02:14:00.000-07:00

And here is the rest of it.This project was one my first projects that dealt with an element of photography, as well as combining frottage (a print making process).

The theme was 'forensic crime scenes', where we were encouraged to formulate our own innovative ideas of a person's untimely death. As you can see, some students came up with bizaar concepts (me being one of them). I was motivated buy a story in the paper, that covered the death of a girl, that somehow choked on a live butterfly. With this story in mind, I decided to emulate it through image, and this was my result.