Jamie MacRae

I was an Art Educator and the Head of Visual and Media Art for 41 years. Now retired from teaching, I am following my artistic path.

Being immersed in an educational environment that was implementing technology in the various teaching formats available to students, I became interested in digital photography. The ability to transform my photographic images in a digital darkroom, instead of a traditional darkroom, became the direction of my art.

Originally trained in printmaking and design at the Ontario College of Art and Design, the keeping of my both my interests within the framework of my mixed media pieces is important. Photography has always been a form of record keeping for me and was also part of my artistic planning of compositions.

Having lived in Toronto’s urban environment for most of my life, I was constantly surrounded by the sounds and sights of a changing and emerging city.  As a photographer, I was acutely aware that each image captured was a time capsule of that urban moment. Each image was never to be experienced again. Much like the concept that the macro universe continues to expand outward, so does the micro city I have chosen to live in. My mixed media pieces, play with this expansion.

My art work also attempts to make a connection between the vibrant urban energy of Toronto with its many iconic sights and symbols.The images play with the juxtaposition of abstraction and urbanity, with a realistic undertone.