Our Neighbour - the waters of Lake Ontario


This project will be an extension of my previous investigations into the living entity of the water in our lakes and rivers. Previously, my work has explored the northern lakes like Superior and Huron. Moving south, this project will capture the personality of lake Ontario so that viewers may come to see that lake in a transformative way. No longer is it simply a body of water that we use as a consumed resource. The photographs will delve deep into the varied colours of the water and how the lake displays its emotions and personality. The work will combine indigenous ways of knowing with those of western understanding. In this work, the goal is to create a unified experience of our environment that allows all perspectives to enrich our lives. I visited the shores of Lake Ontario around the new development and captured a variety of images of the lake. I visited various sites on several different occasions to capture the lake and capture the lake's emotions it wished to share. Each lake has its own way of communicating and sharing. Colours, waves, the underwater environment will definitely be different than previous lakes photographed.

"Nature always brings me a sense of wonder. There's an incredible balance when one stops to observe closely. I always hope others can gain this same sense of awe through my work. The series of photographs in this collection seeks to explore the personality of our neighbour, Lake Ontario. I hope that viewers gain a new perspective and learn about our water, understanding that our lakes are more than a resource that exists for our use. It is our neighbour, our friend and sustains us."

- Erin Fitzgibbon

About
The Artist

Erin Fitzgibbon


  • I am an artist with Irish, French Canadian and Indigenous roots dating back to 1612 in Canada. Inspired by family teachings, heritage and transcendental concepts of beauty and perfection in the simple act of existence, my work explores different facets of nature like water, wind and growing plants. We often lose sight of that which is wonderful in this world. The media inundated us with the negative like war and oppression. Through personal hardship, I have learned that each terrible moment leads back to beauty if we only allow ourselves to experience it. My recent work explores how water can bring us to those moments of peace and beauty. In general my approach is extremely spontaneous. I let my genuine fascination for the world lead me to unexpected places searching for perfection. Quiet contemplation leads to a moment of spontaneity. Many times ideas arrive with brute force. I often scramble to find my camera or sketch quickly before the moment is gone. The result is a collection of images that vary greatly in subject matter and style. However, they all hold to the same thread that the Earth is ours to care for and that each person, each object, each moment, good or bad is as it should occur. Some people have pushed me to choose a subject matter or style for my art. To be known for a "type" of photography. My "type" is beautiful and varied. I make no apologies for being "all over the place." I hold onto a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson. He said, "To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment."
  • https://www.erinfitzgibbon.com/

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