Matthew Muzzatti, 2016 © Rita Leistner, courtesy Stephen Bulger Gallery
TITLE_NAME :
RITA LEISTNER - The Tree Planters
21/10/2017 - 18/11/2017
Stephen Bulger
1356 Dundas St West
M6J 1H6 Toronto
www.bulgergallery.com/
Stephen Bulger Gallery is pleased to present "The Tree Planters", first solo exhibition of work by Canadian artist Rita Leistner.
Having planted over a half a million trees between 1983 and 1992, Leistner perceives this series as an homage of sorts, to all the Canadian tree planters; past, present, and future. Canadian tree planting is unique in the world and is entering its third generation. It has become an indelible part of our national identity, changing not only the geographic landscape of Canada, but also its cultural mindset. It is an essential contributor to Canada being the world leader in sustainable forest management, which all our futures depend on.
Best known for her work in war zones as a conflict photographer, Leistner came to recognize how the strenuous, remote job of tree planting prepared her for that role. Now she has turned the tables and is using her accumulated knowledge as a photographer to offer a unique perspective of her former occupation. After years of photographing war zones, Lesitner reached a point in her life where she wanted to make photographs that did not represent death, despair, hatred, loss, and violence. Instead of the deserts of the Middle-East, these photographs were made in British Columbia during 2016 and 2017, while "embedded" within the planting camps of Coast Range Contractors.
21/10/2017 - 18/11/2017
Stephen Bulger
1356 Dundas St West
M6J 1H6 Toronto
www.bulgergallery.com/
Stephen Bulger Gallery is pleased to present "The Tree Planters", first solo exhibition of work by Canadian artist Rita Leistner.
Having planted over a half a million trees between 1983 and 1992, Leistner perceives this series as an homage of sorts, to all the Canadian tree planters; past, present, and future. Canadian tree planting is unique in the world and is entering its third generation. It has become an indelible part of our national identity, changing not only the geographic landscape of Canada, but also its cultural mindset. It is an essential contributor to Canada being the world leader in sustainable forest management, which all our futures depend on.
Best known for her work in war zones as a conflict photographer, Leistner came to recognize how the strenuous, remote job of tree planting prepared her for that role. Now she has turned the tables and is using her accumulated knowledge as a photographer to offer a unique perspective of her former occupation. After years of photographing war zones, Lesitner reached a point in her life where she wanted to make photographs that did not represent death, despair, hatred, loss, and violence. Instead of the deserts of the Middle-East, these photographs were made in British Columbia during 2016 and 2017, while "embedded" within the planting camps of Coast Range Contractors.