NEXT TORONTO MEETING: Wed, Jan 21st, 2015
Summer Leigh is the artist behind The Past is Never Far, a photographic series that explores the extraordinary changes Toronto has experienced since its founding in the 18th century. Ms Leigh held her first camera at the age of 4 and has been an avid photographer ever since. She graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Ryerson University in Toronto, where she currently lives.
The inspiration for this series came from Elizabeth Simcoe’s paintings. In experiencing Toronto’s wildness through Simcoe’s work, Ms Leigh sought out the Simcoe locations and re-documented them 220 years later. Revisiting the sites, she noticed little nuances of the past which caused a deeper appreciation for the spaces we occupy today. Those little hints of the past, like the muddiness still at Fort York, helped Summer realize the past is never far.
The public is welcome. Go to our Programs page for times and directions.
“Summer Leigh’s exploration of landscape change in Toronto is both novel and engaging. Historical geographers often view landscape as a palimpsest – as layers of form and activity which are partially or wholly erased over time. Leigh mines Toronto’s artistic history and marries it with her own contemporary photography to literally superimpose past and present at specific sites. She reminds us that urban places are inherently dynamic; her non-judgmental eye allows us to see environmental change free of nostalgia.” -Wayne Reeves Chief Curator, Museums & Heritage Services, City of Toronto.
Note: If you Google Elizabeth Simcoe Painter you will get a number of images and historical links.
