ballard ship scapes

The exhibit "BALLARD SHIP SCAPES" featuring work by Wyn Bielaska and Jason Haase, opened at the White Sage Studio on Saturday. As the new studio manager, I have the pleasure of being surrounded by with these photographic projects for hours on end.

As you might imagine, my observations of the work is very different:
With Bielaska's work, I have have the constant urge to continue his experimental journey and participate in the visual manipulation by pairing the actual pieces together in new ways. I think buyers will be intrigued with the dynamic nature of it for years on end. I have discussed this with the artist and he has granted me permission to move things around at will! I will be photographing the process and putting the images up here, so stay tuned.

The visual weight and brilliant colors of Hasse's work is simply stunning. Arranged on a strict horizon line, it feels like there is an actual ship in the studio space. I really want to see the entire series purchased so a ship can remain in tact somewhere.

Here is a little deeper explanation of each:

Wyn Bielaska
This assemblage of photographic collages are a part of an ongoing exploration by Bielaska utilizing large steel ship hulls as the central subject matter - studying manmade materials and the impact of natural forces upon them. As an architect, this cataloging process [which began in 1995] has been very important to him in attaining a deeper understanding of the nature of materials, and enhancing his daily pursuit of spatial and form composition.

Breaking away from his traditional composition style, these composite photographs are the result of many digital manipulations of original three-dimensional objects to a level of abstraction. The composite is in fact a more minimal, two-dimensional representation that detaches the meaning of the original object from space and time and opens the reading of the composition to a multiplicity of interpretations and possibilities - the intent is to mystify rather than clarify what was observed.

The original images are low-resolution photographs of ship hulls shot in Ballard. Several images were then imported into an iPhone app called POP ART, where color filters from a spectrum of color choices were applied to a quadrangle configuration of the original image. These abstracted images were then stitched together into woven compositions. Some of these compositions have the original images embedded into the final pieces. These final composite pieces were then printed onto aluminum.

This series is a LIMITED EDITION of 10 pieces for each image.

Jason Haase
The subject of this photographic series is "The Sea Bird", a Naval vessel that was converted into a commercial fishing ship in 1996. This ship is one of the many members of the Ballard fishing fleet the seemingly appear to be permanently docked. The intention of the series is to produce an image that both reflects the strength and stamina of the ship, while at the same time echoing its stillness.

The position of the water line in each individual image reflects different periods of time for the Sea Bird. When the catch was plentiful, the ship sat low in the water, resulting in markings high on the hull where the dock rubbed against it. When the load was light, the ship sat high on the water, resulting in lower scarification. Corrosive salt water then gives all the markings an added layer of decay.

Outside the context of the marina, the water lines are shown in a new perspective. Something usually seen from above is brought down to eye level, introducing an artificial horizon to the viewer. This perspective creates a datum which compels the viewer to reinterpret the space in which the images inhabit.

Each series is a LIMITED EDITION of 10 pieces for each image.