Meet Me In The Middle

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Talia Shipman, "Meet Me In The Middle (Wigs)," 2016

archival photography, 48" x 32" Ed. 2/4

Back Gallery Project is pleased to present its first solo exhibition with Vancouver raised, Toronto-LA based artist Talia Shipman, following her mass success at the 2016 Toronto International Art Fair.

Talia Shipman’s photographic series Meet Me In The Middle explores an imagined post-apocalyptic world where water and other basic needs are replaced by consumer objects, examining the human and natural world’s propensity to change and transform. Meet Me In The Middle was created in a fervent process of navigating and confronting the unforgiving conditions of the static desert landscape. Fascinated by the colour turquoise as a metaphor for water, fluidity, and change, Shipman struggles to find balance between the two different fragile and extreme ecosystems – the increasingly dehydrated earth mirroring an equally delicate capitalist world order. The series and the subject matter addressed is relevant concerning the ongoing global water crisis, current contentions raised at the Dakota pipeline protests, and the commodification of this precious resource. Underscoring the layering of references, she alludes to environmental concerns, social conventions, and her own personal quest for identity.

Shipman’s previous works include photo-based collages and large-scale public installations including video and sculpture. Attaining her BFA in Photography from Ryerson University, School of Image Arts (2007) she has worked on a variety of artistic endeavours. Shipman’s entire Meet Me In The Middle series (2016) was acquired as a permanent installation by the prestigious HBC Global Collection in NYC. Her permanent public projects Blue Space (Water Wall) (2015) and Water is Taught by Thirst (Submerge) (2015), are on display in Toronto's Bay Street Financial District. She was commissioned to create the lobby installation at the Drake Hotel for Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival (2015), and has participated in numerous group exhibitions including: Humble Arts Foundation’s Future Isms (2016), Photorama at Gallery TPW in Toronto (annually 2008-2016), and Greenhouse at One Mile Gallery in Kingston, NY (2015). Shipman is a multiple-year recipient of the Magenta Foundation's Flash Forward emerging photographer award, has exhibited, been published, and is included in private and public collections in Canada, US, and UK.