Marlene Creates lives in Portugal Cove, Newfoundland and Labrador, surrounded by the six-acre patch of boreal forest that has been the focus of her work since 2002. This series is about movement—the movement of wildlife at ground level and of celestial bodies overhead. Heaven and Earth, if you like. The events juxtaposed in each pair are just two of the countless natural phenomena—perceptible and imperceptible—that occurred at the same time. The series is also about the possibilities for artistic agency when the artist deliberately relinquishes being the photographer and leaves it to a trail camera, which is triggered by movement. Creates values the serendipity and off-centeredness of these photographs, while recognizing that wildlife move with intention and the celestial events in our galaxy happen with precise predictability. She is interested in how we regard such photographs, which ask questions about our expectations of the pictured world.

Since the 1970s, Creates has presented her work in over 350 exhibitions and screenings across Canada and abroad. She received the BMW Exhibition Prize at the 2013 Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival for her exhibition at Paul Petro Contemporary Art. Marlene Creates gratefully acknowledges the assistance of The Canada Council for the Arts.

• Marlene Creates