{"id":51532,"date":"2023-06-25T17:35:06","date_gmt":"2023-06-25T21:35:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.artoronto.ca\/?p=51532"},"modified":"2023-06-25T18:53:20","modified_gmt":"2023-06-25T22:53:20","slug":"margaret-gdyczynski-ephemeral-light","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/v2.artoronto.ca\/?p=51532","title":{"rendered":"Margaret Gdyczynski: Ephemeral Light"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For the 27th Edition of the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival, museums, galleries, coffeeshops, and site-specific locations are featuring the artwork of photographers from all walks of life. And tucked away on Roncesvalles at Westminster Avenue is Extra Butter Coffee, featuring the exhibition Ephemeral Light <\/em>by Margaret Gdyczynski.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Installation view of Margaret Gdyczynski, Ephemeral Light, <\/em>2023, digital photo composites. Photo: Elin MacRae<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gdyczynski\u2019s digital compositions use the film process of double exposure: by repeatedly exposing different images to light, a ghost-like effect is rendered into one overall image. Mentioned in her Exhibition Note, this mirrors how our memories form and behave. The unpredictability of this method proves essential in capturing the transitory feel of Gdyczynski\u2019s photographs. In this exhibition, both photographer and light are the artists. The pictures are a dreamy yet cohesive interplay of permanence and impermanence within Toronto spaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each photograph has one exposure as an identifier, which captures the main setting of the space. Then, in aggregation, other impressions of the interior layer on top. These layers display the space\u2019s distinct characteristics: there is the French-inspired interior design of Maison Selby; <\/em>the classic copper espresso machine in Tango Palace; <\/em>and the vintage furniture in The Sonndr Caf\u00e9. <\/em>Together, these combined images blend \u2013 the way our memories do \u2013 into one moment captured in time. The slight ambiguity created from these multiple exposures suggests fleeting and vague moments, but warm ones. This is what elicits such pleasant nostalgia in the viewer. True to the explorations in her work, Gdyczynski\u2019s exhibition echoes how memories are conjured in the mind: details drift across unrelated events, faint particulars wave in and out of focus. The permanence of indoor lighting, juxtaposed with the impermanence of daylight, parallel the workings of memory; simultaneously fixed yet fleeting.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Margaret Gdyczynski, The Sonndr Caf\u00e9<\/em>, 2023, digital photo composite on inkjet paper, 12 x 16 inches<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eataly <\/em>shimmers with transient light, capturing what it is to fondly recall a space as charming as Eataly\u2019s Il Gran Caff\u00e8. Parts of the salon wall of Art Deco posters translucently hover over (or under) rows of the modern light bulbs and abandoned coffee cups, eliciting a peaceful recollection for even those who have yet to visit the space. Margaret Gdyczynski\u2019s inspiration behind her photography stems from the richly decorated interiors of old basilicas in Florence, where she studied art. Now, she explores the spaces Toronto has to offer while searching for the perfect cappuccino. How fitting it is, then, that her exhibit is presented proudly on the wall in the comfortable atmosphere of Extra Butter Coffee.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Margaret Gdyczynski, Eataly – Yorkville, <\/em>2023, digital photo composite on inkjet paper, 12 x 16 inches<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Posting under the handle CoffeeCoreConfession, Gdyczynski has been exploring double exposures and the elusive play of light since 2017, and has participated in Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival for three consecutive years. Staring at this exhibition\u2019s photos, with my own coffee in hand, I am delighted to find images of spaces familiar to me. Under the lens of Ephemeral Light, <\/em>we have not only shared a space, we have now shared memories of it. Each photograph encourages reflection, inviting the viewer to pause a moment and notice the interplay of light in Gdyczynski\u2019s work before pulling back to notice the light in the viewer\u2019s own physical surroundings. According to the Ephemeral Light <\/em>exhibition proposal, in reflecting on these qualities of past and current surroundings, we create spaces that \u201calter states of mind, change moods, or shift perspectives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Margaret Gdyczynski, Tango Palace<\/em>, <\/em>2023, digital photo composite on inkjet paper, 12 x 16 inches<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Margaret Gdyczynski\u2019s photography conveys the importance of reflection, not only in one\u2019s own life, but in appreciating the spaces (and coffee) Toronto has to offer. Her portfolio contains dossiers of interior spaces of this city that provide opportunities for contemplation, or even meditation. Surrounded by coffee ambience \u2013 quiet conversation, cups clinking \u2013 and the collection Ephemeral Light, <\/em>it is not difficult to understand why gems like this caf\u00e9 have inspired such an exhibition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elin MacRae<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Images are courtesy of the artist and Scotiabank Photography Festival<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*Exhibition information: Margaret Gdyczynski, Ephemeral Light<\/em>, May 1 \u2013 June 30, 2023, Extra Butter Coffee, 283 Roncesvalles Ave, Toronto. Hours: Mon\u2013Sun 7am \u2013 6pm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Elin MacRae<\/strong><\/p>\n

Surrounded by coffee ambience \u2013 quiet conversation, cups clinking \u2013 it is not difficult to understand why gems like this caf\u00e9 have inspired such an exhibition.<\/p>\n

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