Dan Morrison, Old Nelson Quarry, from the series Molded Ground, 2012
June 29 – July 28, 2012
Opening reception: Friday June 29, 6-9 p.m.
GALLERY 44 Centre for Contemporary Photography
401 Richmond Street West, Suite 120
Toronto, ON M5V 3A8
T: 416.979.3941
E: stu@gallery44.org
www.gallery44.org
Hours: Tue-Sat 11 – 5 p.m.
Dan Morrison is the 2011 Verant Richards Scholarship Award’s Recipient
In Molded Ground, photographs of the depleted floors of abandoned quarries are covered with a nutrient rich growing medium to create biologically sensitive plates. The photographs are then returned to the exact location where they were originally captured and exposed to microscopic fungal spores floating in the air. The resulting decomposition of these miniature environments alludes to the adaptive growth the artist has observed in these quarried sites, where without fungi the process of reclamation would not be possible.
Dan Morrison is an OCAD U graduate, photographic artist, and highly skilled woodsmith working predominently with naturally occurring raw materials. He seeks to capture the extraordinary, and often unnoticed, facets of the southern Ontario forests where he grew up. His recent photographs reveal the adaptive qualities of trees and fungi as they survive in the unique landscapes along the Niagara Escarpment.