Photographs by Jo Brown and Tom Bradley

September 25 – November 7 in the East Gallery

Opening September 25 at 7 pm

Jo Brown and Tom Bradley have been creative partners for many years traveling together to unusual and remote locations. As each photographer interprets these journeys in their own individual style, vignettes of natural and historical worlds appear to inspire the viewer to imagine what may have come before the taking of the photograph.

Artist Statement

Exchanging Views is a work in progress by photographers Jo Brown and Tom Bradley, employing the concept that when two stand alone bodies of work by two artists are put together they integrate to create a work neither of the artists would conceive of on their own. Each artist creates images meaningful to them and individual in composition, subject, palette and development style. Combining the two elevates the work to something unreachable singularly with an unplanned and unforeseen outcome.

Each individual body of work is a story. The artist tells the story with the image, the presentation, the title and the subtitle. Each piece is a ‘page’ of the story. The two bodies of work are then brought together to reveal a more complex and unexpected tale.

Biography – Jo Brown

As a child, Jo Brown was most comfortable in a rural setting and at an early age developed an affinity to being outdoors exploring the natural world an landscapes creating imaginary stories in which to place herself to interact with that world. Over time, the exploration and appreciation of these places grew and the stories became more numerous and diverse. In 2007 she began intensive independent study of photography, image processing, inkjet printing and print presentation and thus undertook the pursuit of a career on the arts.

The convergence of real and imaginative worlds with landscapes offering passage between the two is the focus of Jo Brown’s exploration in her work as a photographer. Her desire is to present vignettes of the natural and historical worlds to create a chance to summon the imagination. She is influenced by prairies and foothills like those where she spent her childhood as well as the north of Scotland where her cultural heritage resides, the two often competing for time and space.

Biography – Tom Bradley

Tom Bradley also grew up most influenced by a rural setting, in his case the forests, lakes and wetlands of northwest Ontario. As a direct result, he entered a career in forestry. This led to a decades long apprenticeship as a documentary photographer working in 35 mm film to provide illustrations for reports and publications.

Tom is influenced by Tolkien’s perspective on the natural wold and forests, and the huge sweep of time that lies beneath the surface of the mythic world. The liberating switch to digital equipment coincided with a first trip to northwest Scotland, where ancient work in stone and the paths of the old peoples open doors to other times and worlds. His artistic vision is of vista, drama and natural drama, with the trace of human presence and an uncertain place in time.