Kristopher Grunert

My photographs capture scenes that are often overlooked and transcend them to sublime beauty. Exhibiting my photographs in backlit light boxes came from a desire to share with the viewers the most realistic experience of the scene in which I photograph. In essence, I capture the light energy and that energy is recycled back to our world and multiplied as it is transmitted from the light box through the consciousness of the viewer.

My upbringing has granted me a strong spatial sense and the ability to see and capture lines, atmosphere, movement and light. The first eighteen years of my life were spent on my family's farm in rural Saskatchewan. Our family has seeded and harvested that land for over 125 years. Enduring the extreme environment - from arctic cold winters to desert hot summers - cultivated an understanding and connection to the land and how to work within the earth's cycles. In the winter my father worked at the federal building as a boiler engineer. As a young child I would often go to work with him and soon became fascinated by the array of pipes, lights, gauges, dials; the inner workings of the building. This spawned an interest in manmade systems and environments, which to me are equally beautiful and complex as nature itself.

After deciding to pursue photography as a career I was accepted into the highly technical photo-imaging program at Langara College. For the next two years I was immersed in the science of photography; from graphs and equations, to chemistry and composition.

With my 1972 Hasselblad camera, I use long exposures of 10 to 20 seconds to create my images. This gives me time to visualize the light being recorded onto the film. With the principles of photography and a connection to light now deeply ingrained, light meters and other technical equipment have become unnecessary to uncover beauty.

I owe much inspiration to several artists, notably Edward Burtynsky for his dedication to the noble theme of documenting manufactured landscapes and the impact our species has had on the planet, Jeff wall for his relentless pursuit of pre-visualized perfection and Nadav Kander who's work succeeds in its fluidity between the art and commercial markets. I also give much credit to Robert Melnychuck who has been an invaluable mentor; his guidance and unfailing support for my work is cherished.

All of these elements have lent themselves to the growth of my artistic vision. I hope that others continue to be enchanted by the beauty in things unseen. The engineering, the placement of lights, steel, and concrete - someone, somewhere, poured their efforts into these creations and my objective is to show the beauty that exists there. To me, they are as magnificent as a constellation of stars.