Toronto Ontario, Canada (2012)/ Linear Photo-Panoramic, Composite 8 Images/ Archival Inkjet Print, Bamboo Paper 44” x 78” (ed. 5), 18.6″ x 31″ (ed10), 10“ x 16.75” (ed. 25) 
Toronto Ontario, Canada (2012)/ Linear Photo-Panoramic, Composite 13 Images/ Archival Inkjet Print, Bamboo Paper 44” x 108” (ed. 5), 19.4” x 44” (ed. 10), 9.75” x 22” (ed. 25) 
Toronto Ontario, Canada (2012) / Linear Photo-Panoramic, Composite 10 Images / Archival Inkjet Print, Bamboo Paper 44” x 105” (ed 5), 18.6″ x 40.8” (ed 10), 10” x 22” (ed 25) 
Toronto Ontario, Canada (2012)/ Linear Photo-Panoramic, Composite 8 Images/ Archival InkJet Print, Bamboo Paper 44” x 80” (ed. 5), 18.5” x 31.6” (ed. 10), 10” x 17” (ed.25) 
Toronto Ontario, Canada (2012)/ Linear Photo-Panoramic, Composite 13 Images/ Archival InkJet Print, Bamboo Paper 44” x 117″ (ed.5), 18.8” x 49” (ed.10), 9” x 22” (ed.25) 
Toronto Ontario, Canada (2012)/ Linear Photo-Panoramic, Composite 21 Images/ Archival InkJet Print, Bamboo Paper 44” x 135” (ed. 5), 18.75” x 52.5” (ed.10), 8” x 22” (ed. 25) 
Toronto Ontario, Canada (2014)/ Linear Photo-Panoramic, Composite 10 Images/ Archival InkJet Print, Bamboo Paper 44” x 46” (ed. 5), 20.75” x 21.75” (ed.10), 9.5” x 10” (ed. 25) 
Toronto Ontario, Canada (2014)/ Linear Photo-Panoramic, Composite 16 Images/ Archival InkJet Print, Bamboo Paper 44” x 143.3” (ed. 5), 17.23” x 55.25” (ed.10), 7.75” x 22” (ed. 25) 
Toronto Ontario, Canada (2014)/ Linear Photo-Panoramic, Composite 11 Images/ Archival InkJet Print, Bamboo Paper 44” x 88.5” (ed. 5), 14.8” x 27” (ed.10), 10” x 19” (ed. 25)
The Nature Of Urbanity is an ongoing body of work combining artistic creation with academic research, motivated by my desire to understand the complex relationship that exists between human and nature. Often regarded as binary, these ideals have evolved throughout human history as a result of numerous cultural forces, and their subtle interplay has and will continue to have far reaching implications for our being. What becomes clear from this inquiry is the understanding that,
“It is never too late to give up our prejudices. No way of thinking or doing, however ancient, can be trusted without proof. What every body echoes or in silence passes by as true to-day may turn out to be falsehood to-morrow, mere smoke of opinion, which some had trusted for a cloud that would sprinkle fertilizing rain on their fields.”
Henry David Thoreau Walden; or, Life in the Woods
My visual work employs linear photo-panoramic composites of urban vegetable gardens, juxtaposing the mathematical precision and control of constructed space with the organic chaos of foliage and greenery. Holding the camera in hand I traversed the edge of each rooftop recording one image every five to ten feet. Combining eight to twenty-one individual frames, each is aligned and overlapped slightly before being ‘stitched’ in Photoshop using elaborate hand drawn layer masks to reveal, conceal, and blend certain areas of each. The result is the illusion of one cohesive image which takes on a visual and spatial presence somewhat unusual to the medium of photography, offering varying aesthetic and interpretive experiences based on the location of the viewer.
Landscapes make us keenly aware of our insignificance next to their vastness and dominance given our ability to overcome them. Their representation has changed dramatically throughout history and been utilized by many fundamental discourses including religion, science, and art, to shape our natural gestalt. Viewing the landscape from above is a privileged vantage point exposing an interconnectedness between boarders and bodies invisible from the ground. Today, the view from above is common place allowing us to comprehend the landscape on a micro and macro level, while ushering in an understanding of the connectedness and complex workings of our biosphere unlike any other time in history.
Humanity emerged from the vegetable garden. As a physical and intellectual space it is essential to understanding nature’s cultural evolution: representing our first forays into organized society that brought freedom from the tumults of life in the wilderness and allowing for the construction of our most romantic and idyllic notions of nature. It is the amalgamation of a rational desire for mathematical and scientific control on the one hand, and the spiritual and empathic recognition of a mystical cycle we are deeply rooted within on the other. The garden is akin to landscape making ‘real’ a space for humans to delight in a connectedness and process of which all things are a part, while operating completely within our control and stewardship.
The ‘other’ is synonymous with nature and where often feared, it has developed as a realm containing or deserving of a lesser projection of empathy than we reserve for humanity. The evolutionary phases of our empathic consciousness have occurred in tandem with changing energy and communications schemes, giving rise to our increasingly complex civilizations, concurrently changing our perception of the other. Nature emerges directly from a changing idea and understanding of what it means to be Human, providing meaning, purpose, and security for the otherwise fragile human condition. We have developed nature as a moral boundary, a realm of physical ‘stuff’ studied and defined by science, a commodity dominated by commerce, and an entity that evokes transcendental reverence bordering on the sublime. These relationships ultimately determine the way we as individuals, communities, and societies think about and act toward the world we live in.
In line with current global climate concerns, a rapidly changing energy and communications regime, our deepening understanding of the complex beings and systems around us, and our always curious questioning of the essence of our being, humanity is in the midst of a major re-envisioning toward our physical and metaphysical relationship with nature. While still hotly contested, the understanding that our biosphere is changing as a result of human action is commonplace. Knowing this we are beginning to confront and question many deeply rooted traditions of our being. This is necessary if we are to develop and disseminate a new empathically minded environmental ethic which is capable of reconciling the deeply rooted gap between human and nature. What must not be missed, ignored, feared, or disclaimed during this process in an effort to maintain the intellectual purity of the dialectic is nature’s existence as a product of culture.