Michael Flomen Event in the Landscape

Presented in partnership with the Greater
Toronto Airports Authority.

As Marshall McLuhan once commented,
“nobody can commit photography
alone.” Michael Flomen is a photographer
who collaborates with nature.
Using available light to produce large-scale
photograms (camera-less photographs)
he captures the motion and effects
of circling fireflies, flowing water
and falling snow. In his abstract images
created on light sensitive photographic
paper, Flomen reveals a universe of
occurrences. Working in Vermont and
Quebec at night, Flomen places photo
paper under water or on land amidst
the climatic effects of nature. While
Flomen’s approach is beyond his full
control, he has mastered his technique
to create astounding and powerful
photograms from physical and natural
phenomena.

Event in the Landscape
produced from a selection of Flomen’s photograms
created during the last ten years, explores
territories
outside the confines of conventional
photography. These digitized images, placed along the
moving sidewalks at Pearson Airport’s
Terminal 1, evoke the timeless qualities
of the earth, the atmosphere and
the solar system, set amidst the
context of modern flight. While new
technologies are redefining the content
and process of photographic imagery
in the 21st century, Flomen’s work
recalls some of the earliest known
photographic images – those produced
by Henry Talbot Fox in the 1830s.
Flomen’s imagery is grounded in the
present day, reflecting what we do not
normally see but intuitively recognize
as familiar. His images emphasize
the actions of light and the physics of
space. In partnership with nature, he
transforms the way the environment is
perceived.
John K. Grande

Michael Flomen lives and works in
Montreal and is represented by Galerie
Pangée. He has exhibited extensively
throughout North America and Europe
and his work is part of many collections
internationally. Flomen’s work is
included in the book The Edge of Vision:
The Rise of Abstraction in Photography
and is part of the related travelling
exhibition.