“Photographs echo our attachment to nostalgia and become an important part of our memories. My artwork focuses on capturing the elusive, unclear qualities of memory by printing my soft focus photographs onto sheer fabric and other materials. The ethereal, distorted images resemble paintings as I arrange the photos in layers, and combine different memories together. The sheer fabric photographs are also sometimes combined with acrylic and oil paintings.

Once the images are printed on sheer fabric and layered, some of the details fade and become distorted or lost. Similarly, memory fades and we can only remember fragments of images in our mind. I see photography as way to transfigure and preserve these symbolic memories, giving them more importance. As time passes, transitory memories become real and immortalized in sheer fabric. These layered, pastel style images reference the countless small details in life and moments that are unnoticed or lost.”

Lori Birkbeck is an award winning, multimedia artist based in Toronto, Canada. She completed her BFA from OCAD University in 2017 and her artwork has been shown in Japan and Canada. Lori’s work attempts to capture and understand the ephemeral aspects of memories and nostalgia. She creates layered, soft focus photographs that are printed onto sheer fabric and other materials. She also creates paintings which further the themes related to memory.