HUMAN:NATURE SERIES
As human activity alters and controls more of the earth’s surface, wildlife are forced to adapt. Some species are displaced from these areas, some live at the fringe, and others become full-time residents of what we tend to think of as “our” spaces. As their behaviour adjusts, it can seem as though these non-human neighbours of ours take on some of our own patterns and characteristics, reflecting our own nature back to us. We’re also forced to re-examine what “natural habitat” now even means for many of them. As such, these images present moments of day-to-day life for several commonly found species, as seen in tableau, not unlike the dioramas in natural history museums, but updated for the reality of their new habitats.
Lanthier chronicles local Vancouver wildlife stories, including the Chinatown Otter, a river otter that “broke into” Sun Yat-Sen Park and ate several of the prized koi fish, prompting rival social media fans using the hashtags #teamotter and #teamkoi. The Olympic Village Beaver is depicted, drawing parallels to Vancouver’s always-challenging housing situation. And, of course, there’s The Crow Commute, a daily happenstance in which thousands of crows fly just before dusk to the Still Creek area of Burnaby, echoing the evening rush hour. Vancouver’s “unofficial ambassador” Canuck the Crow is featured in this image as well.
Other works in the series explore the wider relationship of certain species to humans, including coyotes, and how they have adapted by turning nocturnal when in urban spaces, Canada geese, and how they’ve transitioned to residing permanently in urban parks rather than migrating, and raccoons, who perhaps more so than any other species have absolutely thrived in cities, the only drawback being that they’ve developed typically human problems like obesity and heart disease for all their success.
Caribou Migrants
Archival pigment print backmounted to aluminum
30″ x 45″ Edition of 7 $3,400.00
40″ x 60″ Edition of 5 $4,800.00
Crow Commute
Archival pigment print backmounted to aluminum
30″ x 45″ Edition of 7 $3,400.00
40″ x 60″ Edition of 5 $4,800.00
Chinatown Otter
Archival pigment print backmounted to aluminum
30″ x 45″ Edition of 7 $3,400.00
40″ x 60″ Edition of 5 $4,800.00
Permanent Resident Canada Geese
Archival pigment print backmounted to aluminum
30″ x 45″ Edition of 7 $3,400.00
40″ x 60″ Edition of 5 $4,800.00
Rabbit Co-op
Archival pigment print backmounted to aluminum
30″ x 45″ Edition of 7 $3,400.00
40″ x 60″ Edition of 5 $4,800.00
Bears in our Backyard
Archival pigment print backmounted to aluminum
30″ x 45″ Edition of 7 $3,400.00
40″ x 60″ Edition of 5 $4,800.00
Olympic Village Beavers
Archival pigment print backmounted to aluminum
30″ x 45″ Edition of 7 $3,400.00
40″ x 60″ Edition of 5 $4,800.00
Lone Coyotes
Archival pigment print backmounted to aluminum
30″ x 45″ Edition of 7 $3,400.00
40″ x 60″ Edition of 5 $4,800.00
Trash Pandas
Archival pigment print backmounted to aluminum
30″ x 45″ Edition of 7 $3,400.00
40″ x 60″ Edition of 5 $4,800.00
THE SPECIAL SERIES
Like any city, Vancouver has its myths and clichés. Being a lifelong resident of the Lower Mainland, these are as common to me as the north shore mountains, or #1 Highway. As a digital photo artist, the ability to extract and recompose elements allows me to explore these ideas. So while every subject in these images can be found within the Greater Vancouver area (unless they’ve already become victims of the city’s ever-reconstructing nature), none will be found in the context in which you see them here.
As such, The Special is not at all about the strict documentation of the city, but rather presents a crafted idea of it as it exists in our thoughts and memories. The flattened perspective of the buildings suggests reducing those structures to symbols, as a child would draw a house by placing a triangle atop a square, yet they maintain photorealism. The assembly of the pieces is done with the intention of creating a series of hyperreal, yet nostalgic little worlds, each of them distinctly and recognizably Vancouver.
Vancouver Specials
30″ x 75″, archival print backmounted to aluminum, edition of 5 SOLD OUT
18″ x 45″, archival print backmounted to aluminum, edition of 7 SOLD OUT
New Vancouver Specials
30″ x 75″, archival print backmounted to aluminum, edition of 5 $4,800.00
18″ x 45″, archival print backmounted to aluminum, edition of 7 $2,500.00
Vancouver Vanishes
30″ x 75″, archival print backmounted to aluminum, edition of 5 $4,800.00
18″ x 45″, archival print backmounted to aluminum, edition of 7 $2,500.00
Strathcona Stands
30″ x 75″, archival print backmounted to aluminum, edition of 5 $4,800.00
18″ x 45″, archival print backmounted to aluminum, edition of 7 $2,500.00
Kings Way
30″ x 75″, archival print backmounted to aluminum, edition of 5 $4,800.00
18″ x 45″, archival print backmounted to aluminum, edition of 7 $2,500.00
Floating Homes
30″ x 75″, archival print backmounted to aluminum, edition of 5 $4,800.00
18″ x 45″, archival print backmounted to aluminum, edition of 7 $2,500.00
Davies Orchard
30″ x 75″, archival print backmounted to aluminum, edition of 5 $4,800.00
18″ x 45″, archival print backmounted to aluminum, edition of 7 $2,500.00
Storybook West Side
30″ x 75″, archival print backmounted to aluminum, edition of 5 $4,800.00
18″ x 45″, archival print backmounted to aluminum, edition of 7 $2,500.00
East Van Relics
30″ x 75″, archival print backmounted to aluminum, edition of 5 $4,800.00
18″ x 45″, archival print backmounted to aluminum, edition of 7 $2,500.00
Old Entertainment District
30″ x 75″, archival print backmounted to aluminum, edition of 5 $4,800.00
18″ x 45″, archival print backmounted to aluminum, edition of 7 $2,500.00
Istanbul Specials
30″ x 75″, archival print backmounted to aluminum, edition of 5 $4,800.00
18″ x 45″, archival print backmounted to aluminum, edition of 7 $2,500.00