I was at the opening of Norma's Exhibition on Saturday at Flowersfields Art Centre in Portstewart on the North Coast of Northern Ireland. Norma is a visual artist & photographer that also works with textiles.
NORMA Burrowes returns to Flowerfield with an exciting new exhibition of photographic images, following her residency in Karamea, New Zealand.
The exhibition, entitled ‘Karamea’ opens on April 2nd with a special drinks reception and viewing, an opportunity to see the images at close hand and meet the artist.
Norma’s visit to New Zealand has resulted in some stunning images for this interesting artist, who says of her work: “My work is photographic based. I capture impressions of my environment. With my camera, I combine photographic elements to reveal this extraordinary nature of ordinary daily details, to create my own truth of any chosen moment and respond to the feelings and histories that surround these daily details.”
The artist takes inspiration from the world around her, she says: “Sometimes a moment occurs that stops and transports me – my work is about relaying these moments, taking active inspiration from them and passing on their energy through my photography.
“These camera paintings go beyond physical representation and take inspiration from the transitional quality of any environment and life within it. I use macro a lot in my photography. Alongside these single images, I have been creating work with sets of images.”
Residency-based practice is central to Norma’s art, and the residency at Karamea had a great impact on her. Karamea is a small and remote town on the west coast of the South Island. “One of the many positive elements of my time there was living in a place and country where art is part of general life. This makes a big difference to the artist and being around people who enjoy art and actively collect it, helps the artist to not only survive but thrive creatively.”
