Walter May • Photographs
Fire pits and Campsites
This ongoing series of campsites and fire pit images has been gathered over the last 19 years during excursions to natural and wilderness areas located primarily in Alberta and British Columbia.The photographs were taken using various digital cameras, have been printed in several sizes and are usually exhibited in blocks or groups, or as a part of installations that include other objects. When the images are seen together, comparisons can be made between small scale economical campfire constructions and large structures that must have required a great deal of effort. This leads one to speculate on the purpose and intention of the builders. At the present time I estimate that I have amassed a digital archive of over two thousand images as a part of this project.
Most of the sites that I have documented are found near water, which has become a secondary theme in the series. Although the location of the site is of interest, I am more engaged by how people have chosen to construct the fire pit using whatever natural materials are at hand to contain the fire. I have also noticed that in most cases people will remove whatever has been brought to the campsite location that is not of the natural world, however the fire pit itself is left intact. Unless the sites are disturbed by other people, animals or by natural phenomena such as floods, these sites may remain as evidence of human interaction with the natural world indefinitely.
Digital image
Digital image.
Digital image.
Installation of photographs at Paul Kuhn Gallery as part of the Exposure 2015 Photography Festival, Calgary Alberta.
Each photo approx. 30" h x 40" w. Little Red Deer 05/16/2011 • Inkjet print on archival paper. Livingstone 07/06/2010 • Inkjet print on archival paper.
Each image 6" h x 8" w. mounted on small shelves. Black and White inkjet prints on archival German Etching paper.
6" h x 8" w. Digital print on archival German etching paper.
Digital Image.
13.5" h x 16" w. Digital print on Velvet Fine Art Paper.
11' h x 14" w Digital print on Archival Paper.
An Installation of 60 11'x14" digital prints with sculptural construction. Galerie Klimy, Warsaw, Poland.
Individual photos 11" h x 14" w. Installation approx. 14' wide. Digital photos printed on archival paper with various objects partially dipped in tar and hung from bead chain.
A Block of 12 framed inkjet prints. Each print is 13.5" h x 16" w.
Campfire images • 14"w x 11" high unframed. Studio Installation of 63 framed digital campfire photographs. In addition, a looped 3d animation of a campfire is presented atop a wooden tripod.
Duets
A selection of paired photographs that features incongruous, ironic, portentous, futile or unusual situations. Examples of recurring imagery includes falling or fallen objects, black animals, accidental drawings, containers for fuel or fire, the effects of fire and water on the land and strange lighting.
An installation of twenty duet photos as part of "Look Again" at the Nickle Galleries, University of Calgary.
20.5"h x 12.75" w. x 2.5" A single match is embedded in a short candle placed in a small wooden container with hinged doors. This container rests on a metal shelf attached to the top of a framed digital photograph of two types of fireplaces. Private Collection.
Image size 10" h x 7.2" wide
Digital image.
Digital image.
Image size: 18" h x 13" w Inkjet print on Epson Matte Archival Paper.
Image size: 18" h x 13" w Inkjet print on Epson Matte Archival Paper.
Image size: 18" h x 13" w Inkjet print on Epson Matte Archival Paper.
Image size: 18" h x 13" w Inkjet print on Epson Matte Archival Paper.
Image size: 18" h x 13" w Inkjet print on Epson Matte Archival Paper.
Image size: 18" h x 13" w Inkjet print on Epson Matte Archival Paper.
11" h x 8 1/2" w. Inkjet print on archival paper.
11" h x 8 1/2" w. Inkjet print on archival paper.
11" h x 8 1/2" w. Inkjet print on archival paper.
11" h x 8 1/2" w. Inkjet print on archival paper.
Big Little Fish
Small dried fish were scanned at high resolutions. These scans were translated into large inkjet prints that were exhibited with the original fish presented in a test tube adjacent to the framed image. In a later development, a scan of a preserved fish was paired with a fossilized fish of a similar size.
Each framed print 92" w x 22" h. A high resolution scan of a small dried fish and a fossil of a small fish are presented as a large scale inkjet prints on archival paper. The original fossil, as well as the dried fish in a test tube are placed adjacent to the framed print. Collection of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts.
Detail of previous work.
An installation of two large framed inkjet prints of dried fish with original fish in test tubes hung adjacent to the frames.
Framed size: 77" w x 25.5" h. image size: 71" w x 19.5 h" A large format inkjet print on Moab archival 100% rag paper produced from a scan of a small dried fish with fish, test tube and hardware.
Image size: 74.5" w x 19.5" h. Inkjet print on Moab archival 100% rag paper. Exhibited with test tube, dried fish & hardware.
Image size: 85.5" w x 21.5" h. Inkjet print on Moab archival 100% rag paper. Exhibited with test tube, dried fish & hardware.
Image size: approx. 72" w x 18" h. Inkjet print on Moab archival 100% rag paper. Exhibited with test tube, dried fish & hardware. Private collection.
Chateau Mathieu
A selection of images taken during a residency project at Chateau Mathieu in Normandy, France. Several of these images were included as part of the narrative section of the "Folly" exhibition (The Esplanade Gallery, Medicine Hat, Alberta, 2012 and The Nickle Galleries, Univ. of Calgary 2014).
11/25" h x 9.5" w. B & W image of stone garden pedestal supporting a large piece of burnt wood, printed on archival matte paper.
6.5" w x 4.25" h. Photo of basement kitchen at Chateau Mathieu with Ping Pong table. Inkjet print on archival matte paper.
6.5" w x 4.25" h. Photo of wood storage room, Inkjet print on archival matte paper.
An arrangement of photographs and objects from the Chateau Mathieu residency project.
Chair with small table at Chateau Mathieu.
Unaltered still life arrangement at Chateau Mathieu.
Laundry rack at Chateau Mathieu seen from above.
Exterior of Chateau Mathieu with a large stone ball and a small wooden peg.
A decorated plastic barrel found in the stable at Chateau Mathieu.
A still life arrangement of several jugs at Chateau Mathieu.
Tableau and still life arrangements at Chateau Mathieu.
Exterior still life at Chateau Mathieu 2010.
In an attempt to restore symmetry, a former window at Chateau Mathieu which had been replaced by bricks, was painted to resemble the original window.
Walter May • Drawings
Examples of early drawings exhibited with the source material included within the composition. Models included string, sticks, stones, feathers, cigars and portions of some animals. This strategy of including original subject matter, pairs of objects or groups of related components often reoccurs in my other work.
16" h x 5" w x 2" d. A framed pencil drawing of a squirrel tail with the tail.
9" h x 5" w x 1.5" d. A pencil drawing of a bear claw with the claw.
25" h. x 30" w. A framed pencil drawing with a construction made from feathers and bamboo attached to the frame. Collection of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts.
25" h x 30" w. x 4" d. A pencil drawing of a construction made from bamboo, feathers, a rubber snake and cord, which is attached to the frame.
A pencil drawing on handmade indian paper with a model constructed from a string, several black stones and a cigar.
22.5"h x 15.5"w x 2"d. A pencil drawing with source material - decorated cigar, feather, string on handmade Indian paper.
20" h x 26" w. x 2"d. A pencil drawing of small black stones with small black stones.
A pencil drawing of flat rocks with rocks.
22" h x 15" w x 2" d. A pencil drawing of small stones with small stones.
22" h x 26" w, x 2" d. A pencil drawing of flat rocks with rocks.
30.5 h x 23.5 w x 3" d. A pencil drawing of small branches from a pine tree with branches.
11" h x 47" w x 3" d. A drawing of a still life construction made from branches and wire. The model for the drawing is partially concealed within a layered box. Collection of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts.
37" h x 36" w. x 2" d. A mirror image pencil drawing of a still life construction made from sticks and string. The construction is partially hidden within a layered box frame. Collection of the Canada Council Art Bank.
30" x 22" x 2", Pencil drawing of bamboo stick with elastic band and thread construction with model. 1978.
A drawing of small stones arranged in accordance with a military map describing troop movements at the Battle of Chateauguay, Quebec, 1813. Corporate collection.