A Single Element – on now, until June 5

As an ongoing project, Gabriola Photography Club curates the art display space downstairs at the Gabriola Medical Clinic on Church Street, Gabriola Island. Club members take turns having solo exhibitions or taking part in group exhibitions.

Western screech owl © John Konovsky

We’re delighted to present a new exhibit by Gabriola Photography Club member, John Konovsky.

The fifteen photographs in John’s exhibit each focus on a single element, many of them birds. Some are simple portraits, some capture a moment. In John’s own words:

In an era of overload and clutter, my intent is to strip away distractions and celebrate the everyday beings around us.  I myself, as an early bird, am drawn to the moody light of pre-dawn thru sunrise as represented in many of these images.

Each image ultimately expresses my sense of the beauty of solitary nature:

  • The Vaquero (Mexican cowboy) alone by the fire hints at introspection (Mexico)
  • The solitary rock chimney in the seascape centers a wondrous daybreak (NL)
  • The sheep grazing alone on a hilltop congers peacefulness (Ireland)
  • The flower and its reflection evokes what the Japanese call “sabi (寂び),” an appreciation of the aging/tarnishing/decaying process (Vancouver)
  • The empty mussel shell on a beach showcases the ebb and flow of living and dying (Mexico)
  • Each of the birds, young or old, is carrying on with life in some way
  • The foggy scene acknowledges the fading nature of our existence (Fraser Estuary)

Together, I hope all the images celebrate the delicate balance between humanity and the earth.

The Palette People – on until April 11

Our club is taking a breather from exhibiting this month at our gallery space downstairs at the Medical Centre on Church Street. We’ve loaned the space to The Palette People for a painting exhibit, which will run until April 11, when our next photography show will start. You can see The Palette People’s exhibit, Mondays through Fridays during business hours.

Meanwhile, over on North Road, Gabriola Photography Club’s group exhibit continues at Gabriola Chiropractic, where patients have until March 31 to see the 32 prints on display . Participating photographers are Linda Blokhuisen, Sally Bullas, Laurie MacBride, Joan Owen, Sher Falls, Corinne Flaws and Steve Struthers.

Two New Club Exhibitions – on now, until early spring 2025

As an ongoing project, Gabriola Photography Club curates the art display space downstairs at the Gabriola Medical Clinic on Church Street, Gabriola Island. Club members take turns having solo exhibitions or taking part in group exhibitions.

The coming of the new year turns out to be a busy time for Gabriola Photography Club! Eight or our members are displaying their work in two separate print exhibitions here on Gabriola Island.

Downstairs at the Medical Centre on Church Street, a new exhibit hosts a variety of prints – both colour and monochrome – by club members Linda Blokhuisen, Sally Bullas, John Konovsky, Laurie MacBride and Joan Owen. The show is on now and will run until February 20, Mondays through Fridays during daytime hours.

Meanwhile, over on North Road, patients of Gabriola Chiropractic will be in for a visual feast, with 32 prints on display from January 1 until March 31 during business hours. Seven club members are involved, including Linda, Sally, Laurie and Joan, along with Sher Falls, Corinne Flaws and Steve Struthers.

“She’s Messing About Again…!” – on now, until Dec. 27

As an ongoing project, Gabriola Photography Club curates the art display space downstairs at the Gabriola Medical Clinic on Church Street, Gabriola Island. Club members take turns having solo exhibitions or taking part in group exhibitions.

A head and shoulders photograph of a bear, with brightly coloured stands of "hair" streaming back from its head and a background that appears to be a starry sky.
© Diane Green

We’re delighted to present Diane Green‘s latest solo show. In Diane’s own words:

The ever-increasing use of artificial intelligence is affecting almost every aspect of our lives. It is now nearly impossible to tell (when done well!) whether an image – or even a voice – is original, altered, or completely artificially created. In many ways this is all a frightening prospect for the future.

ON THE OTHER HAND……!
“Messing about” with AI in the arts field can be a lot of fun and can enhance creativity exponentially.

What is the dividing line between photography and “art”? Art created using paint does not have to justify itself when it doesn’t exactly recreate reality! Photography (unless journalistic photography which has to be 100% unmanipulated) should be similarly accepted as art, “messed around with” or not!

The resulting images in this exhibit are created from my original photographs, sometimes manipulated to different degrees using tried and true programs like Photoshop, but now may also be amended in a variety of ways using artificial intelligence.

So “let’s play”!

Eyes on Nature – on now, until November 8, 2024

As an ongoing project, Gabriola Photography Club curates the art display space downstairs at the Gabriola Medical Clinic on Church Street, Gabriola Island. Club members take turns having solo exhibitions or taking part in group exhibitions.

Six members of Gabriola Photography Club have joined together to present our latest exhibition. Each of us is drawn by something a little bit different in our nature photography.

Linda has been pulled in by the splendour she sees in a bird’s outstretched wings and the details of its feather composition, with each feather adding to the overall effect of grandeur.

For Ian, photography is about having fun, and he’s been doing that recently from a bird blind in his garden. He’s also enjoyed using his macro lens to discover the uncommon beauty in some of our “common” backyard plants and fungi.

Corinne is fascinated by the variety of colour and forms in rocks, so she jumped at the chance early this year to explore the rock formations of Monument Valley, Utah, to try to capture the essence of this spiritually powerful place.

Nature never ceases to fill Sher with wonder and delight, no matter the season. She embraces the transition from fall to winter, when migrations bring beautiful new visitors to our region.

As a lifelong boater with her roots firmly planted on the west coast, Laurie is passionate about the natural environment of this place  – both land and sea – and the amazing, complex web of life it supports.

John says his photographs record moments when his perception of the natural world is at its strongest, when he experiences a wonder based on a sense of the energy and processes that underpin our planet’s ecosphere.

We hope you’ll enjoy and appreciate the diversity of life and the beauty of the natural landscapes we have chosen to highlight in this exhibit.