Only Women Can Do That – The feminine element in photography: Meryl McMaster Interview with Sabine Kutt

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Series Editor: Sabine Kutt

Visit Meryl McMaster Exhibition: “Otherworldly Transformations”

Artist Statement

The most profound experiences in my life over the past several years have occurred while exploring remote natural landscapes. It was during these moments of deep change that my personal life-meaning took form.

© McMaster

To arrive at this heightened understanding of myself I first had to experience a challenge – whether within a group or alone. In either case I was highly attuned to my surroundings and began to explore such matters as my relationship with others and my place within the natural world. These adventures were an important catalyst in the process of making my personal identity more transparent to me.

Returning home, I felt as though I could continue this process of self-discovery by exploring various new themes in my art practice, namely those themes relevant to the pursuit of a more fully formed self-hood.

The idea of In-Between Worlds struck me as an opportunity to express my bi-cultural heritage, Plains Cree/British and Dutch, not as a struggle but rather as a strategic way of thinking of how they connect. I belong to two heritages, existing betwixt and between. My work explores ways of mixing and transforming these histories. Through working on this series, I intended to transform the way I view the past from the perspective of the present. I hoped to create a new, liminal narrative that, while quite specific to my personal heritage, could also be of relevance and meaning to everyone.


Interview: December, 2021

Visit Meryl McMaster Exhibition: “Otherworldly Transformations”

About Meryl McMaster

Currently I am living just north of Ottawa in a small town called Chelsea in Quebec, Canada. I am very close to a conservation park which is the largest green space in the region. I love going on hikes with my husband and young daughter and cross-country skiing and snowshoeing in the winter months. I have always enjoyed being in the outdoors from a young age and have loved going on camping trips over the years some being as long as a month long. This lifelong interest and kinship with the outdoors has influenced me in all sorts of ways within my art. I bring this inspiration into the materials I use, the costumes I make, and the landscapes I situate myself within as my way of connecting to the world around me.

© McMaster

Website

Visit Meryl McMaster Exhibition: “Otherworldly Transformations”