Event

Paul Walty
The Witching Hour / Entre chien et loup
May 5 to May 26, 2007

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Summerside, 4.5x2.1 feet

My father, an avid bird-watcher, enjoyed dusk and dawn. The ebb and flow of animal energies at those times of day made him restless. He needed to be out-and-about to catch the birds gearing up or down, roosting or taking flight. The particularities of each event, these feathered comings-and-goings were a continual source of interest and excitement. Daybreak or day’s end was “The Witching Hour”, a time of possibility, a moment that favoured the unexpected.

I accompanied my father on many of his outings during my childhood. And, obviously, eventide and morningside remain coloured with certain ornithological associations and the pleasure of the time spent together. But these times of day also had a magical cast to them. Things half-seen, movement in the corner of my ey, all let my imagination run riot. I was free to conjure with what would have otherwise been imperceptible at night or plainly obvious and without interest in the bright light of day. The Witching Hour has left its mark.

Years later, these digital collages juxtapose the photograph and the drawing. Their coexistence adds a depth and a flavour to the narrative of my work. The visuel shock of the drawing demands a certain suspension of belief. And that in turn unleashes the “what if” or the “only if”. The improbable, the fanciful, the imaginary make room in my thoughts. The photograph leads me to situations I would never have dreamed or even considered, had I remained exclusively attached to my pencils, markers and a host of other drawing tools.

May these works entice you towards your Witching Hour.

Lets shed a little light on things, 2007

Great media coverage

Installation shot