Photographer points camera the other way
For photographer Brad McMurray, having his work on the walls of the Penticton Art Gallery means his journey has come full circle.
Born in Penticton, McMurray moved away decades ago at a young age and now lives in Burnaby, but often returns here during the summer.
“It’s kind of my hometown. I always kind of have this mixed emotional feeling when I come back to town for some reason, even though it’s a long time ago since I lived there,” McMurray said.
“Coming back to my hometown with my work on the wall — it’s kind of cool.”
His photos depict the human-altered landscape, minus the humans. Whether it’s a vacant parking lot or a fenced backyard, the large size of the photos and McMurray’s exploration of colour and framing ask the viewer to take a second look at the everyday.
“When you see it, you see these subject matters in my photographs, they’re kind of stimulating. They make you take a second look and you find beauty and colour in the ordinary and the mundane,” McMurray said.
The Penticton Art Gallery received the donation of 13 pieces from Terry Munro, who bought them from McMurray, who has been working on the series for six or seven years.
The photos feature a few shots of the Okanagan and surrounding regions, including the Keremeos-Princeton area.
McMurray has a summer home in the North Okanagan, where he’s also gathering material for the series: “There’s just so much interesting structural diversity up there that really appeals to me.”
He was pleased to hear a Penticton high school teacher took an art photography class to the exhibit at the gallery, which provided some inspiration for the students.
“They were quite blown away by my images in particular, apparently, and the teacher said the students when they went back to class talked at great length about it,” McMurray said.
As a result, their next photo project is going to be based on his work.
“It’s nice to get feedback like that,” McMurray said.
“Most people are walking around with a camera or a paintbrush, they’re looking at the typical things — the sunsets, pretty mountains — and I’m kind of looking the other way, at the things we see everyday but don’t really pay attention to.”
McMurray’s work is on display at the Penticton Art Gallery until Jan. 21.