Upcoming Shows: Noire II

Bean to Brew Coffee House, 3202 31st Avenue ,Vernon, BC, Canada, October 22 to November 18, 2012

California Salton Sea III

 

Visiting the Salton Sea was the highlight of one of our trips to California last year. We were told that it was a dead, polluted and miserable place, but found it to be the complete opposite. It was a place that was clinging to long forgotten hopes and dreams. It’s beaches laden with salt and the vertebrae of dead fish were alive with wildlife and vibrant with stark contrasting colors. Overwhelming all of this spectacular barren beauty was the odor of decay, death and salt. It was a reminder that life goes on in spite of ourselves and out of the ashes of calamity the earth continues to attempt to renew and replenish itself.

Upcoming Shows: Terroir: Charting Boundaries

Penticton Art Gallery November 18, 2011 to January 15, 2012

The Scream Inside

The Scream Inside IV

Carol Hermesh uses digital photography to document the characteristics and characters which live amongst us. When viewing her work, one may feel either an uneasy sense of discomfort or a strange sense of fascination and voyeuristic pleasure which comes when afforded an unusual opportunity to peer into a world quite unlike their own. These intimate photos explore the underground world of fetish sexuality and brings to light a community which for many is a place far removed from their own existence. These images elicit a wide range of emotional response and will challenge many who are presented with this window into a world and culture which resides far from mainstream society. Each of the subjects of these photographs came to the artist on their own terms and willingly and enthusiastically participated in the photo shoots, providing costumes and suggestions as to how the photo shoot should be staged. Their boundaries are defined and well understood by the members of their community and by each of the participants and each respects the limits and limitations set out before them. For some, viewing these images will be uncomfortable and will provoke a range of emotions and thoughts which will, in turn, challenge personal boundaries. Each subject comes to this exhibit on their own terms and each is a willing participant in the process. Conversely, the emotions and reactions to what we see are our own and the limitations to our level of comfort clearly define a boundary in our lives which may or may not match those depicted in the photos of Carol Hermesh or those of her subjects. Paul Crawford, Penticton Art Gallery