Annie Fraser @ Hamilton Artists Inc I

Carbon Copies: Private Spaces by Annie Fraser, 2011; Photo Credit: Karen Thiessen 2012

Annie Fraser, a 2012 fine arts graduate from McMaster University, is an emerging artist to watch. She has ten art works in Re:Structures, a group show at the Hamilton Artists Inc artist run centre and they are spellbinding. Carbon Copies: Private Spaces, an assemblage using an old card catalogue, building materials, beeswax and dollhouse furniture dominates the space. Those golden house-shaped units in the drawers are made of beeswax, not cheese. Each of the eleven open drawers is a self-contained environment that invites the viewer to look closely. What is in the two closed drawers is a mystery. Mystery is good: it cultivates intrigue.

Carbon Copies: Private Spaces by Annie Fraser, 2011; Photo Credit: Karen Thiessen 2012

Annie has a finely-tuned sensitivity to materials and space. Eight pieces in the show are ethereal wall-based assemblages that cast gorgeous shadows. All but two are made of four basic materials: metal, paper, fabric, and thread.

Catalytic by Annie Fraser, 2012; Photo Credit: Karen Thiessen 2012

Catalytic by Annie Fraser, 2012; Photo Credit: Karen Thiessen 2012

Home and change are the themes for the work. Annie takes old photographs, enlarges them, excises them from their backgrounds, and then places them in new contexts. In doing so she is writing new narratives, reimagining history.

Heavy Lie-In by Annie Fraser, 2012; Photo Credit: Karen Thiessen 2012

Lie By Myself, Lie To Myself by Annie Fraser, 2012; Photo Credit: Karen Thiessen 2012

Annie Fraser's work is best seen in person. Photographs simply can't capture the subtleties of the work and the shadows as the viewer moves past the pieces. Re:Structures is on at the Hamilton Artists Inc from June 29 to August 5, 2012.