Kevin Boyle: Elemental Ice

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Kevin Boyle, "Icefield Study #15, | Waterfall," 2018

archival inkjet photograph on alupanel with uv laminate, 40" x 30"

Opening Reception: Saturday, Jan 12, 1-4pm. Artist in attendance.

I am as old as time.

I have been around for millions of years. I have carved valleys and shaped mountains.

I nourish you. You drink from me. I affect currents, climates, ecosystems…. I affect everything.

I am more than something to crush in your margarita or put on a swollen ankle, though I am happy to do that for you.

With every tear I shed I am changing the planet…irreparably so, I fear. The canary in the coal mine died years ago, but you were distracted and did not notice.

I have seen species come and go, but I may not live to see what happens to you.

I am dying… and I fear that when I go you won’t be far behind.

I hope it’s not too late.

We are changing the planet. We are entering a new geological epoch, and this time it isn’t caused by a meteorite, volcanic eruption, or an ice age… humans are the catalyst.

The effects of our actions are not being recognized properly, and with every passing day the world changes; the Earth warms and the ice melts.

The first time I saw an ice field from 14,000 feet above, it took my breath away. Not because I should have probably had oxygen at that elevation, but because I had no idea of the beauty that was in my own backyard.

“Elemental” is my interpretation of ice. Without scale or reference points, and shooting from an aerial platform, the focus is on textural complexity and colour. To me, this highlights the profound beauty and abstraction of nature; a natural wonder quickly and silently deteriorating all around us.

Our conveniences, which we seem to value above all else, are the problem. The choices we make directly influence the world in which we live, from our cars, to our clothing, to our disposable phones.

We care more about our social media following than the landscapes providing the background to our selfies.

The time has come for each of us to weigh our own actions against how they impact our world. It’s this relationship between macro and micro which “Elemental” seeks to highlight.

If we don’t take a new perspective on our individual footprints, there will be no earth left upon which to make them.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Kevin Boyle is a Vancouver based artist who uses photography as his medium. Though his works cover a wide range of subject matter, the connective tissue that joins them all is his belief that we have walked away from the things that we used to hold dear and replaced them with fleeting and trivial things. Whether an ultra-long exposure of an abandoned building, a montage of cattle into impossible lines, or dizzying images of mountains and glaciers, his pictures challenge the viewer to alter their perspective. The scale at which the images are presented put the viewer in the same spot he was when creating them and allow you to get lost in them.

His DaySleeper series won first prize in the International Photography Awards and the Fine Art Photography Awards, and his work can be found in private and corporate collections throughout North America and Europe.