About the Book
A thought-provoking art book exploring changing landscapes through the pioneering work of Canadian photographer Sylvia Grace Borda.
Sylvia Grace Borda made a substantial debut into new media and photo art when she launched Every Bus Stop in Surrey, BC. With this piece, Borda reclaimed California coastal conceptual photo strategies from the 1960s and used them to document a large Canadian city by its own transit system. This marked her entry into international recognition. Since then, Borda has undertaken epic projects to re-imagine urban spaces, from the “New Towns” of East Kilbride and Glenrothes in Scotland to modernist faith buildings in Northern Ireland.
In this dazzling new monograph, Sylvia’s exceptional body of work is examined and placed in both a regional and international context. Specifically, her practice developed in Surrey is examined in relation to art history, the Vancouver School of Art, digital media, community engagement, and projects concluded in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Finland. Featuring essays by renowned curators, artists, and scholars—each presenting specific perspectives on how Borda’s diverse arts practice has shifted and expanded the mediums of art, photography, and social awareness—Sylvia Grace Borda: Shifting Perspectives constructs a conversation between the remembrance of place and current narratives in art history.
About the Author(s)
Sylvia Grace Borda is a member of a growing field of artists tackling cultural policy through the visual arts. She is a sought-after and respected voice at the forefront of culture-led, socio-economic, and community-development/engagement projects in Canada and the UK. She has worked nationally and internationally in senior roles in the creative and cultural industries for seventeen years.
Reviews
"I have been deeply impressed by Borda’s working processes. . . and I am delighted to have been given a glimpse behind the magician’s curtain.”—Christiane Monarchi, Photomonitor
“Borda’s work succeeds in being simultaneously conceptual, experimental, and socially engaged. Recognizing the role of art in defining cultural value, particularly of environment and landscape, Borda describes and maps the overlooked—from suburbs and farms to modernist ‘new towns’—while enabling new kinds of collaboration and social participation.” —Michelle Henning, author of Photography: The Unfettered Image
"A perfect blend of appreciation of place, form, technique, and the passage of time." - Maria Lantin, Director, Basically Good Media Lab, Emily Carr University of Art + Design
"This book will make you see that the possibilities for photography are still wide open for exploration" - Edward J. Bateman, Department of Art and Art History, University of Utah
“Borda’s camera(s) are a witness of a place and time. . . . and her artworks will be meaningful for generations to come.” - Liane Davison, curator and director, Surrey Art Gallery, 1990-2018
Shifting Perspectives documents the slow photography of Sylvia Grace Borda’s sophisticated approach to socially engaged art . . . Her slow process challenges and disrupts normative landscape photography and shows us the future of image making in the twenty-first century.” —Megan Arney Johnston, independent curator, Slow Curating
