Shadows Cast on Imagination's Past by Vancouver artist Eric Deis features mesmerizing photographs from Vancouver, Tokyo and the Canadian Arctic. Deis’s large-scale images, over a gigapixel in resolution, have a remarkable clarity that completely immerses the viewer. The almost surrealist images are captured with a virtual-view camera using a custom digital-analogue system Deis developed.

Eric Deis, Hipsters and Drug Dealer (Aug. 29, 2006), archival inkjet, ed. of 10 [Elissa Cristall Gallery, Vancouver BC, Oct 1-29]

Many of the large-format archival inkjet prints depict buildings and construction sites in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. They have a clear, even quality of light and a painfully exquisite sense of fine detail. At the same time, they appear almost illustrative, like dioramas or theatre sets. His iconic bird’s-eye image Hipsters and Drug Dealer captures a panoramic view of Vancouver at night, with the historic Dominion Building at centre stage and a small drama by local residents playing out on the streets. Although the effect is one of staging, the realization that his subjects are photographed in situ lends an air of magic to the images. Like many artists of his generation, Deis is particularly intrigued by industrial landscapes and construction scenes that position new social forces and structures against eroding backdrops.

Eric Deis was born on a Canadian military station on the Queen Charlotte Islands, BC. In 2004, he earned an MFA from the University of California, San Diego. He is a 2001 graduate of Emily Carr Institute of Art + Design, Vancouver (BFA) and is a 2009 Project Grant recipient of the Canada Council for the Arts. His startling photographs have been exhibited in Canada, United States and Europe.

www.cristallgallery.com

Mia Johnson