Camera Obscura: Kamloops Art Gallery welcomes new exhibit

Jan 19, 2016 | 3:18 PM

KAMLOOPS — Here in the digital age, we take the ability to snap a picture for granted, but the idea of capturing a moment in time has been around for many centuries. Before photography was invented in the 1800’s, the ability to project an image using Camera Obscura, which is latin for ‘dark room’, was one of its predecessors. The newest exhibit at the Kamloops Art Gallery features some notable Camera Obscura, and has a distinctly local flavour.

The Camera Obscura has an item of interest throughout Donald Lawrence’s artistic career. The Thompson Rivers University Visual Arts professor is the principal investigator for the Midnight Sun Camera Obscura festival, which was held in Dawson City Yukon this past summer; the results of which are now part of the exhibition at the Kamloops Art Gallery.

One of the works featured was created by the artistic team of Kevin Schmidt and Holly Ward, and was inspired by the landscape surrounding Dawson City, as well as the lure of riches which initially brought the Gold Rush to the area.