Personal Projects - on the climate crisis
In an attempt to reconnect with nature and deeply understand the impacts from the climate crisis, over the last year I have been creating personal works that conceptually and through the lens of fashion (since that is what I know) explore a connection to the changing environment in nature, and the impacted animals.
Rising Temperatures
We wanted to capture the radically warm winters and fluctuating unpredictable weather caused by our accelerated warming planet. This photograph was captured in on a day where the temperature rose to 20 degrees celsius (in the middle of February!!). Our goal was to present a satirical and comical point of view on not knowing what to wear through the strange juxtaposition of the wardrobe, and further exemplified by the melting snow in the backdrop.
The BeeKeepers Daughter
Deeply saddened by the looming extinction of the honey bees, I wanted to create a story of romance and tragedy. In this series, I strive to tell a story of the bee-keepers daughter, and her melancholy as she mourns the death of her bees. Some of the images include an added layer of artificially collaged flowers, where the images are then rephotographed to imagine the absurdity of a future where the real flowers have disappeared.
on becoming - the tale of the bumble bee
Inspired by Kafka’s book Metamorphosis, and continuing my exploration on the previous story of the bee-keepers daughter, we re-imagined the possibility of the daughter perhaps becoming the bumble bee.
Client Projects - on the climate crisis
There is nothing more rewarding then when you meet clients who are interested in exploring similar ideas. When Tushy, a U.S. company that offers a bidet toilet attachment, reached out to discuss a provocative project to capture the attention of their consumers and highlight the climate crisis in a dramatic way, I immediately jumped at the opportunity!
With it’s provocatively named “Asshole Activists” campaign, the brand sought to bring attention to the one million acres of forest logged every year to create toilet paper. Working with the talented team at Citizen Relations, I was hired to take artistic portraits of the assholes of 20 Toronto-based bidet advocates and Tushy fans. The photos were then displayed in galleries in Toronto and NYC.
This multi-award winning campaign generated 301 media placements, 201 social hits, 243.7 million impressions across Canada, 6,500 visitors to the website and 136 entries to the contest. The gallery saw more than 600 visitors during the one day it was open to the public. Tushy also saw impressive business results tied to the event, achieving a 285% increase in Canadian sales year-over-year, 155% more Canadian website sessions and a 521% increase in promo code usage. Tushy’s innovative approach to advertising was awarded Gold at the 2024 Clio Awards, as well as, recognized at the 2024 AToMiC Awards as the Gold Sustainability Winner.
I hope to continue on my exploration on this topic with more conceptual personal projects in 2024. Upcoming projects will have a focus on air pollution, forest fires, and the destruction of our oceans. Stay tuned.