Ellie Desgranges: Anthrop O Naturel

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Ellie Desgranges, "Anthrop O Naturel," 2021

Ellie Desgranges: Anthrop O Naturel

As a nature photography artist by night and forester by day, I designed this event to challenge the perception that animals and plants are different from you and me. The pieces thus highlight their typically human behaviors and characteristics by using anthropomorphism and a storytelling style.

The Opening Reception will be held entirely online, with the French and English broadcasts scheduled to begin at 18:30 and 19:30 CST, respectively, on Friday November 5th, 2021.

After leaving the buzzing life of French Montréal for the “Wild West” at 20, I was awe-struck at the landscapes so alike those portrayed in National Geographic. For nearly a decade, I felt compelled to learn and document the natural world as a forester by day and photographer by night, capturing the images of what became “The Mandate” collection. It was first released to the public at the Mann Art Gallery Winter Festival in winter 2019, an event I participated in every year since. I also displayed at the Scoles Fine Arts and Framing Christmas Show that year, every summer since at the Friends of the Prince Albert National Park Book Store, and uninterruptedly at the On the Avenue Gallery and the Bison Cafe downtown Prince Albert. In 2021, I also participated in the Saskatchewan River Art Tour in Nipawin and taught a photography workshop in Waskesiu, both of which are planned to reoccur in 2022.

However, the time spent combining science and art transformed my perspective of the environment. With an understanding of ecosystem dynamics, animals and plants became a community of minded individuals with feelings who speak different languages (Aldo Leopold, 1949). Science had added a beauty of its own, and thus, in 2020, I began experimenting with art, conceptualism and storytelling photography in the “Anthrop O Naturel” collection. To represent the hidden facets of Mother Earth, I devised creative ways of demonstrating the individuality of plants using anthropomorphism, and the emotions felt by wildlife with portraiture. Learning photography and art history led me to play with physical space in the layout design of the pieces as means of adding emphasis. Using installations to represent ecosystem interconnectedness and motion, I also practiced with Jeff Schewe’s panoramic techniques to portray the atmosphere of survival required for species to thrive. I prepared the pieces and tailored the series in a storytelling manner similar to Jaymi Heimbuch’s, ensuring I had characters, a stage, and that both interacted together within the context of the collection. Thus, “Anthrop O Naturel” relates the behind-the-scenes story of the natural world as it is perceived by a forester and an artist.