Margo McDiarmid & Kelly McDonald Book Launch

Margo McDiarmid & Kelly McDonald
Book Launch

Exhibition Dates: June 20 - 27
Artist Reception: Thursday, June 20 @ 5-7 pm
Please RSVP to responses@wallspacegallery.ca

Wall Space Gallery is proud to present the works by Margo McDiarmid and Kelly McDonald. Through book-making and the photographic process, these artists use the camera as a way to connect with others and create narratives about loss. Both projects focus on Ottawa and the uniqueness that comes with looking inwards in relation to the surrounding landscapes. They each depict themes about how our environments shape us and of narratives that can be relayed visually when we pay attention.

The Outdoor Rink by Margo McDiarmid is a study on outdoor rinks and their cultural significance in the Canadian landscape. McDiarmid reflects on the role these outdoor community spaces played during the pandemic and how they became a place for people to safely convene.

Margo McDiarmid (Ottawa) graduated with a diploma in Photographic Arts Production from the SPAO in 2020 and completed an intensive 6-month artist residency at the school. McDiarmid is an award-winning journalist and former reporter with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) where she specialized in environmental reporting and politics.

Relics by Kelly McDonald depicts her desire for softness juxtaposed with the rigidity of her body due to living with Parkinson’s disease. McDonald sources local indigenous botanicals from the Ottawa area and documents them, fascinated by their sculptural nature and freeness.

Kelly McDonald (Ottawa), is a photo-based artist living with Parkinson’s disease. Through her photography Kelly wishes to raise awareness of Parkinson’s disease, a condition which impacts more than 100,000 Canadians. She is a graduate of SPAO, McDonald created True To Life, a project offering ongoing photography training for young adults with Down syndrome.

From historical processes to contemporary works, Margo McDiarmid and Kelly McDonald’s typological works echo photo-masters from the past 200 years.