Shadow Man: Mixed Media by Paul Boultbee runs from December 31, 2019 to February 17, 2020 in the Kiwanis Gallery.

By Red Deer Arts Council

New Exhibition

New exhibit coming to Kiwanis Gallery in January

Dec 24, 2019 | 9:35 AM

The first lessons for an amateur photographer is to pay attention to distracting details around the subject, such as unexpected objects in the background, or letting one’s own shadow fall into the foreground.

But as long as photography has been an artistic medium, photographers have played with their own shadows and reflections for artistic effect.

For Paul Boultbee, the “shadow man” in his images represents the ephemeral and insubstantial human observer, who inhabits this environment but leaves but a glancing impression.

From his original shadowy self-portraits, Boultbee has developed a series of mixed media paintings that make up his Shadow Man exhibit, coming up at the Kiwanis Gallery.

Boultbee has always shunned the selfie. In the years before cellphone cameras, he refused to stand in front of world-famous tourist sites and ask strangers the ubiquitous question, “Take my picture?”

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But more recently he did develop an urge to record evidence that “I was here.” Still reticent to put his face in front of the lens, he chose to let his shadow represent him.

And now it has come to represent everyone: a shadowy record of our limited time to participate in our physical surroundings.

“I hope that these haunting images will encourage the viewer to reflect on his or her own place in the world, however fleeting it may be,” says Boultbee, in a release. “We may not all leave a concrete legacy, but it is often our shadow lives that remain.”

Red Deer Arts Council and Red Deer Public Library are pleased to present Shadow Man: Mixed Media by Paul Boultbee, which runs from Dec. 31, 2019 to Feb. 17, 2020 in the Kiwanis Gallery.

The First Friday Red Deer opening is Jan. 3 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The artist will be in attendance.

For more information on First Friday events, visit reddeerartscouncil.ca.