Cree Bruins: Drawn to Film

Artist Statement

Having to remain at home for the past several months due to the COVID-19 order, I was given the gift of time to spend revisiting/rethinking the collection of analog film materials in my studio that I have accumulated over the years. With an upcoming show, I used what I had on had hand, unsure of when I might be able to visit and utilize the resources of local companies that had to temporarily shut down. Fortunately, digital online services slowly became available again now as the predominant method for purchases over brick and mortar stores, not unlike the transition that occurred with the movement from analog to digital photography. 

The transition to digital photography has changed how we view our world and the pictures we are able to produce. It is within this framework that I continue to play with new possibilities through drawings, installations and sculptures to bring to light elements of space, time and memory while reclaiming a medium that has all but faded into the past. I use the physical supports of analog photography – to make rather than take an image. 

Drawn to Film is a series of 24 drawings created using common, discarded or overlooked objects and bits of film photography combined with watercolor and/or graphite. Two installations – Drawing in the Light, made from clear protective 35 and 120mm film sleeves, and Winding Down,combining Plexiglas rods with 35mm processed film – play with light, casting shadows and reflections to produce diffuse, spatial effects. Other works in the show include Intersecting Exchanges and Slide Over. The use of scale and repetition add significance to the materials by encouraging consideration of the objects themselves, as well as the resulting visions they offer.