SHEILA SPENCE, "Pictures of Me," November 13, 2008 to February 15, 2009, Winnipeg Art Gallery

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"Sharon and Bob"

Sheila Spence, "Sharon and Bob," 1988. Silver print on paper. Collection of The Winnipeg Art Gallery. Acquired with funds from The Winnipeg Art Gallery Foundation Kathleen M. Richardson Fund and with funds from the Canada Council for the Arts Acquisition Assistance program.

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"Sharon and Bob"

Sheila Spence, "Sharon and Bob," 1988. Silver print on paper. Collection of The Winnipeg Art Gallery. Acquired with funds from The Winnipeg Art Gallery Foundation Kathleen M. Richardson Fund and with funds from the Canada Council for the Arts Acquisition Assistance program.

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"Shirley and Kassandra"

Sheila Spence, "Shirley and Kassandra," 1988. Silver print on paper. Collection of the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba, Manitoba Arts Council Art Bank, Brandon, Manitoba.

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"Gerry"

Sheila Spence, "Gerry," 1985. Silver print on paper. Collection of The Winnipeg Art Gallery. Gift of Minolta Canada Ltd. G-87-109

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SHEILA SPENCE, Pictures of Me

Winnipeg Art Gallery

November 13, 2008 to February 15, 2009

By Stacey Abramson

The simplicity of a black and white portrait lends itself to overwhelming reflection of human emotion and expression. If executed with great care and passion, the camera captures intimate details, bringing them into the image, and then to the viewer. Winnipeg photographer, activist and artist Sheila Spence has spent two decades capturing the subtleties of the human character — photographing friends and family in stark black and white. Curated by Mary Reid, Pictures of Me is a retrospective examination of Spence’s work, including her portraits and several other series that get at the connection between the camera shutter and emotional expression.

The silent breath of the gallery magically lends itself to the power of Spence’s work, emphasizing the beauty of her subjects, the talent found in each frame, and the small clues and signifiers that each photograph gives off about the subject. Spence has photographed friends, family and members of the local art community. But despite the personal nature of the artist’s connections to her subjects, the confidence and sheer beauty in images such asSuzie, 2007, or the strong grace of Gerry, 1985, give the viewers the pleasure of admiring personalities that are communicated solely through the camera’s lens.

The viewer is invited to see so much about the personalities and qualities of the people in Spence’s photographs, particularly in the portraits of families – both Spence’s family and those of her friends. Both emotional disconnect and deep love come through in the images. In Ellen and Kate, 2007, the comfortable and unfettered love that exists between the two transforms this image, communicating a deep bond between mother and daughter.

The Winnipeg Art Gallery has included Spence’s photographs of the city’s West Broadway neighbourhood in this exhibition. Spence lived in the neighbourhood in the late 1990s and was interested in photographing its diverse community, particularly its youth with an honest realism that can confront the viewer in any number of ways.

It is the total honesty in Spence’s photographs that make her the beloved photographer that she is in the Winnipeg art community. She has no need to Photoshop or to ask her subjects to put on a pose. She sets a tone of ease for her subjects and viewers, allowing for a reciprocal emotional relationship that is full of the breadth of human emotion.