Birdsong V.7

Birdsong V.7 : On Ambiguity, Exploration and the Digital Medium
Reviewed by Selena Lee

Along the bustling street of Queen St. West in downtown Toronto lies the Paul Petro Special Projects Gallery. Although this is a gallery of modest size and décor, one cannot allow the size of the space to dictate the potential for an effective exhibition. This is exemplified with Birdsong V. 7, a group effort showcasing works by ten emerging artists, hailing from York University. Birdsong V. 7 presents an exploration of the digital photographic medium with artists investigating a wide range of themes ranging from emerging sexuality, social interactions, the roles of women, to forces of technology and nature.
With the advent of any group show comes the issue of constructing a dialogue amongst the works within the exhibition space. With Birdsong V.7, this could have been definite problem since each of the ten artists comes from a different background and has an individual style and thematic exploration. However, curator P. Elaine Sharpe has thoughtfully presented a collection of works that are connected through an underlying sense of ambiguity. It is this element that pulls these works together to create an ongoing dialogue amongst the artists and the audience. With every work is a hint of mystery – although a lot of information is being presented, there is still an indication of a deeper dialogue. In Note Series, Alex Majerus literally articulates a need to look deeper with statements of “I have lost my focus. Does it mean anything? I have no idea.” With these cryptic statements, one is directed towards the other levels of ambiguity within the works of the show.
Works by Brian Barter, Azadeh Houshmand and Joni Lui employ the tools of focus and blur to confront the viewer with images that refrain from divulging what one expects from a photograph. Houshmand’s photographs show a progressive loss of information in her Untitled series while Barter’s Social Shuffle presents us with a multitude of photographs that direct us to look towards the peripheries of the frame to realize what is actually in focus.
The element of ambiguity is most evident in the work of Lilien Huston-Herterich’s Wearing Mickey Again. Presented in the frame is a figure whose age and sex is indeterminate. One cannot deduce why the figure is wearing mickey mouse underwear, nor can a moral, political or economic message be recognized. This photographs Huston-Herterich refrains from directing the viewer towards a particular message, allowing them to generate their own dialogue with the image.
An active dialogue is also evident in works by Jessica Butler and Heather Williams. Presented in these works is a constant shift between opposing forces. In Butler’s series there is tension between the represented and imagined, active and static, and illusionary and real. She uses everyday materials, such as a dried leaf, to convey a sense of rebirth and growth. Her work represents a practice that is intimate, yet detached enough for the viewer to enter the photograph. In William’s series, the dualities of organic and inanimate provide a central theme. She articulates the search to find humanity in a sea of technological innovation. This work is devoid of a sense of clarity and objectivity that is commonly presented alongside technological information, alerting one to a sense of the unknown.
The element of the unknown is also illustrated in the works of Amanda Greenson and Julia Dicarlo. Greenson presents an investigation of personal and psychological space being depicted in photographs. Her images appear to be strategically composed, hinting towards a message that lies deeper than the surface of the photograph. In Dicarlo’s Top, one is pushed to question why and how an undressed female figure came to lie amongst a pile of concrete and debris. The figure is surrounded by a radiant glow, which offers a stark contrast to the suggestion of violence in this frame. With both of these works, the viewer is pushed to question what is being presented in these frames, initiating a dialogue between photograph and audience.
The question of time and place is extended with Joni Lui’s Obsession, Accumulation and Life. With these two works, one is alerted an uncanny repetition between two images of a light bulb shining in front of a wall. The individuality of the photos is distinguished by a glass of water in one of the frames. This glass indicates the viewer of a passage of time. These images pose the question of ‘what happened in between these frames?’ The element of time is evident on multiple levels; the speed of the shutter for each image, the passage of time between images, as well as the space in time of the physical prints. As a viewer, we are made aware of a disconnect in representing the passage of time. The photographs refrain from informing us of how much time has passed, or of any movements in-between the camera and this composed scene that may have occurred between capturing these two pictures. Related to, yet opposing the passage of time is Allonge by Justin Lawrence. In this image, a figure is suspended in removed from the pulse of life and suspended in time and space. Upon being confronted with a static image, the viewer can become aware of their own movement through time. It raises the question of ‘Where am I coming from and where, timewise, am I moving towards?’
This question of ‘What’s next?’ can be asked to each of these artists. The title of Birdsong V.7 suggests the end of an exciting chapter with the hopes of more to come. For these ten artists, this is only a beginning towards a greater dialogue and deeper exploration of the digital photographic medium.

Birdsong V.7 is showing at Paul Petro Special Projects Gallery @ 962 Queen St. West, Toronto ON.