The Upwellings is an internationally focused photographic portrait series dedicated to celebrating the profound influence, lifelong authority, and cultural impact of women. The project functions as a vital visual counter-narrative, actively challenging ageism and patriarchal bias by reasserting the systemic value of female experience and wisdom—including the essential contributions of countless women whose efforts often remain unseen.
“The Upwellings” Phase One 2023-2025: Laying the Conceptual Foundation
This project is deeply personal, born from the urgency to create a visual space that affirms the enduring worth and contribution of women. For two years, Phase One of The Upwellings was a dedicated period of research, consultation, and artistic experimentation—all focused on finding the right language and tools to challenge the systemic erasure that impacts me directly as I enter my 50’s.
I grounded the work in the oceanic upwelling metaphor: the natural process where deep, nutrient-rich water rises to the surface, enriching the environment. This mirrors the vital experience and accumulated knowledge of women. Crucially, this wisdom isn't just learned; it’s an inherited authority, anchored by the genetic wisdom passed down through the ages. I think of this as the unbroken maternal chain of DNA, the ancient, sacred thread connecting every woman back to the First Mother. Understanding this lineage—as I confront my own aging and the generational awakening of recently connecting with my biological daughter—has transformed the project's mission into a profound, necessary truth. This deep, enduring presence is what patriarchal culture so often attempts to diminish.
Patriarchal bias fundamentally undervalues this profound, inherited wisdom. Instead, it elevates the aesthetic currency of youth—attaching cultural shame and stigma to the word “aging”—while actively supressing female credibility, expertise and wisdom. This mechanism, driven by the visual culture’s existing youth-centric and non-female biases, results in a systemic loss of essential knowledge and lived experience that is often marginalized, even by women themselves.
THE OLD VS. THE NEW: A VISUAL CRITIQUE
The resulting visual style is a deliberate blend of two powerful creative approaches. The slow, primal craft of the historical Cyanotype process (which relies on fundamental forces like sunlight and water) grounds the work in elemental truth and the weight of history. Conversely, the use of Digital/AI image generation is a deliberate conceptual choice: it represents the velocity of modern visual culture and acts as the critical mirror where ageism is currently being codified into some new technologies. This powerful tension between the old (truth) and the new (bias) is central to the work's critique. By actively inserting the female form into the AI system, the project forces a confrontation with the very technology attempting to erase truth. This duality intentionally explores the tension that arises when a new technology asserts itself, echoing the initial pushback and skepticism photography itself faced upon its invention. This work is rooted in courage, not fear: aging represents the full realization of lived experience and an authority that transcends trend, and new technology in art must be engaged because it is the arena where the future of visual culture is currently being decided. Both are evolutionary forces that demand active, informed participation.
By merging the ancient, deeply rooted craft of the Cyanotype with the digital realm, I explore the passage of time and actively confront these ingrained biases, reasserting the holistic beauty found in the cumulative, intergenerational wisdom of a woman's life. This upwelling of experience acts as a vital, enriching force that fuels cultural, emotional, and systemic renewal and wellbeing within society.
The samples displayed in this gallery are the initial conceptual proofs that emerged from this crucial R&D period. The intent is to take Phase Two into development and exhibition, which will specifically invite real women who have inspired me—those who carry this ancient wisdom—to sit for portraits. These portraits will then undergo this same technical processing, blending the traditional and modern, to visually affirm their enduring value, wisdom, and profound beauty. The final prints will be an affirmation that the greatest beauty lies in the culmination of time, experience, and an unbroken lineage of female wisdom.
Early AI & The Unsolicited Edit
A crucial piece of early AI research became the conceptual anchor for The Upwellings. Using an early image generation program (Remini), I submitted recent self-portraits (in my late 40s in all my glory). Strikingly, and without any instruction from me, the AI automatically stripped decades from me. This was a chilling metaphor that clearly exposed the inherent bias in visual technology, which simply reproduces the narrow, youth-centric visual data that is universally fed.
This bias is validated by the fact that representation of older women is often either erased entirely or relegated to the narrow confines of anti-aging advertising, menopause narratives, and shallow caricatures.
My social media experiment confirmed this reality: I posted the AI-generated image to my personal profile (which is primarily dedicated to food, travel, and my dog, not vanity posts). The reaction was profoundly telling: The image garnered record engagement, with overwhelmingly positive public comments, primarily from men praising how I looked. In contrast, the negative and critical feedback arrived privately and exclusively from women around my age, ranging from accusations of vanity to direct policing about doctoring the image.
This resulting gender and generational divide—men affirming the fake, youthful standard, and women policing the perceived attempt to achieve it—became the critical insight: it affirmed the necessity of creating The Upwellings as a deliberate visual counter-narrative. The project seeks to heal the digital damage by insisting on visibility.
Why Cyanotypes?
The creation of a cyantype is a perfect metaphor for my current season of life. Each image is unique and takes days to create by hand requiring a lot of patience and letting go. This process represents a slow unravelling of pressure, a gentle healing and re-awakening that has paved the way back to my authentic way of being after years of intense workflows in offices, instability and a cascade of life traumas. Immersion in the Northwest Pacific Coast has made way for a new phase of life and yearning to return to analog processes. Slowing down…. observing… breathing… allowing space for love and more work-life balance, grounded by the earth and elemental processes.
What is a Cyanotype?
A cyanotype is an early photographic printing process, dating back to the 1840s, famous for its striking monochromatic Prussian blue color. It is a highly elemental technique: materials (like paper or fabric) are first coated with light-sensitive iron salts and then exposed directly to sunlight to create the image, which is fixed using only water.
The Complexity of the Process
Far from a mechanical print, each of my cyanotype images is a unique, handcrafted result that fuses the old and the new.
The process begins in the darkroom, where I personally mix the light-sensitive chemicals and apply them to the surface which can take a few days. I then create analog negatives—printed onto large transparency film—from digitized pure or altered images.
Because cyanotype is a contact print process, the final image on the paper is always the same size as the negative laid directly upon it. This deliberate choice connects the image-making to the passage of time and place.
The final image quality is never entirely predictable and is a direct collaboration with nature. No two images are alike, as the final color density and detail are determined by variables like the location and intensity of the sun, the precise timing of the exposure (sometimes lasting 10-20 minutes in the sun), and the density of the chemical solution on the paper. This deliberate embrace of chance and elemental forces ensures that every print carries the unmistakable mark of its creation.
A Chronical of Progress, Inventory of Public Record, Exhibtions and Installations:
2024
May 30 | The Errors Tour (Group Exhibition): Unveiled a potent cyanotype on fabric confronting personal loss and physical transformation (replacement of my hip joint) within a collaborative evening of visual art, poetry, and storytelling focused on navigating grief and loss. (99ten open space, Edmonton).
2023
September 10 | Coastal Cyan (Solo/Series Exhibition): Installed a seminal series of original cyanotypes on cotton rag paper exploring the slow, restorative unravelling of pressure, healing, and reclamation achieved through immersion in the Northwest Pacific Coast. (Studio 2H, Tsawout First Nation).
2021–Present
April 2021 | The Wistful Bite (Photographic Series): Developed and continue to exhibit a photographic series that moves beyond "foodie culture" to examine the deeper intersection of nourishment, memory, cultural anthropology, and migration theory.
2006–Present
Photochat (Collaborative Blog & Book Series): Co-authored and maintained this long-running photographic dialogue with artist Jay Proctor, establishing the concept of photographs as a conversational language that transcends linguistic barriers.
2022
November | The Secret Lives of Colour (Short Film): Produced an evocative photographic/visual montage documenting the intimate creative process of musical composer François Houle for the Modulus Festival (Vancouver), used extensively for promotion.
2021
September | The Secret Lives of Colour (Commissioned Short Film): Conceptualized, produced, and directed this visual short film, a prestigious commission by the Pierre Boulez Saal (Berlin), documenting composer François Houle’s artistic journey toward his world premiere.
2013
September | Knowledge to Action Forum (Curatorial Project): Designed and curated a major multimedia exhibition, synthesizing three years of archival content from a national program spanning seven major Canadian cities, for United Nations Association in Canada. (Toronto).
2010
Spring | Italy in Blue (Group Exhibition): Featured handcrafted cyanotype contact prints depicting lyrical scenes from Northern Italy, exhibited as part of a collective show of Ortona studio arts residents. (Ortona Gallery, Edmonton).
2004
Autumn | Tajikistan, An Introduction (Solo Exhibition): Presented a rich multimedia installation—combining photography, literature, regional textiles, music, and a 16mm film piece—to introduce viewers to the culture of Tajikistan. (Ortona Gallery, Edmonton; Athabasca University).
2003
July | Art For Venue (Group Exhibition): Contributed C-prints of travel documentary images from Western Europe to this curated mixed-media collection, founded on the premise that quality art belongs to the masses outside formal gallery spaces. (Edmonton).
2002
June | Looking Back (International Curatorial Project): Conceptualized, promoted, and curated this expansive international photo exhibition, successfully recruiting 28 photographers from 10+ global cities for a self-portrait collection. (De Melkfabriek Artspace, s’-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands).
2001
July | Impure II, the Second Coming (Juried Group Show): Installed the evocative photographic installation “The Blue Cycle,” featuring underwater and Grecian imagery mounted within custom-designed spherical MDF frames (Shaun McNaughton). (Citadel Theatre, Edmonton).
April | M: the Dance (Solo Installation & Fundraiser): Conceptualized, produced, and promoted this first solo photo-based installation, which successfully raised approximately $20,000 in private sector funds and in-kind support. (Ortona Gallery, Edmonton).
January- present | Identisketch: This is an ongoing, autobiographical photographic series documented in black and white film, creating a visual archive of the artist's life across numerous residences and changing geographies. The project explores the stability of the self amidst continuous displacement by featuring the artist holding a hand-drawn self-portrait sketch over their face in every location; this sketch functions as the fixed symbol of an unwavering core identity that persists regardless of external, physical change.
2000
June–July | fetish object (Juried Group Show): Selected for the Edmonton Works festival, featuring photographic-based digital imagery printed directly onto fabric. (SNAP Gallery, Edmonton).
July | Impure (Juried Group Show): Jury selected for this collective show, exhibiting two distinct collections: digital compilations transferred to silver leaf, and silver prints copper-toned and mounted on wood/copper piping. (Citadel Theatre, Edmonton).
May–July | Metamorphic (Duo Exhibition): Duo exhibition with Marlena Wyman; my work featured digital compilations of human and insect images theatrically pinned in glass cases likened to an entomologist’s collection to explore contemporary fears surrounding genetic modification. (Bohemia Cyber Café, Edmonton).
Jan & Feb | Still life (Group Exhibition): Presented a collection of 25 meticulously photographed and hand-printed silver/fibre prints. (124th St. Annual Gallery Walk, Edmonton).
1999
November | Artopia (Group Exhibition & Joint Curatorial): Participated in and jointly curated a large, multidisciplinary group show of 23 artists, exhibiting silver prints. (Phillips Building Arts Collective, Edmonton).
September | Neurotica (Solo Exhibition): Exhibited a solo show utilizing oil paint and mixed media applied directly to glass windows, complemented by silver prints set in original repurposed wooden framing. (Café La Gare, Edmonton).