We acknowledge that all the artists participating in this exhibition are engaged in their creative pursuits within the unceded traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. We express gratitude to the custodians of this land. As we delve into themes of ambiguity and the concealed, we also recognize the obscured histories of this land. We aim for clarity to emerge, enabling us to pay homage to and reconcile with them.

FOCUSED BLUR

VIEW CAPTURE PHOTOGRAPHY FSTIVAL WEBSITE

How far can the language of a photograph stretch in its storytelling? What lies hidden in an image’s pixels and glistening fragments as they hint at the enigmatic truths that dwell beneath the surface? Focused Blur embarks on a journey into the profound capacities of photography, delving beyond mere visual representation to unearth the concealed narratives that reside within the frame. In this exhibition, we follow the lead of four emerging artists who dare to explore the boundless potential hidden within the realm of photography.

In a world flooded with a ceaseless torrent of visual stimuli, where images are effortlessly captured and instantaneously shared, it becomes easy to be captivated by the superficial. Focused Blur strives to break free from this superficiality, inviting viewers to gaze deeper, question the surface, and contemplate the layers beneath a photographic moment frozen in time.

Artists Vanessa Denham, Khim Mata Hipol, Karl Mata Hipol, and Maria Michopulu venture into the mysterious through the lenses of abstraction, archival imaging, and experimental photography. They transcend the boundaries of time and space to unravel the stories etched onto the very fabric of the photographic medium. The resulting images resemble spectral whispers from a bygone era, cloaked in a delicate choreography of light and shadow.

Maria Michopulu

“Let there be Light”, 2023

Let there be Light is a photographic series operating purely on the basic principle of photography itself - light. This work is created from the beginning to end in the darkroom using pointer lasers, light sensitive photo paper and cut glass. Together this combination shapes and transforms the light into abstract imagery which is caught with light sensitive paper and then tray developed.

Vanessa Denham

Kite, from the series “Corrupted Memories”, 2022

The project, Corrupted Memories explores how our brains process and distort certain perceptions of time. This project is to allow one to ask these questions and how they connect to their own lives. How much of what we know is really fiction? Where is the truth within how we as humans have evolved through the nature of story telling and what is represented of ourselves through time.

Karl Mata Hipol

I spy... when invisibility holds you no.22, from the series “I Spy”, 2022

The project, Corrupted Memories explores how our brains process and distort certain perceptions of time. This project is to allow one to ask these questions and how they connect to their own lives. How much of what we know is really fiction? Where is the truth within how we as humans have evolved through the nature of story telling and what is represented of ourselves through time.

Khim Mata Hipol

Untitled #2 (dust), from the series “When the so

il crumbles”, 2023

“When the Soil Crumbles” draws from the mysterious corridors of memory, where fragments of experience are captured, only to be shrouded in obscurity. The fading images in my grandfather’s archives echo the transient quality of the past, simultaneously preserving and obscuring the stories they hold.