Eric Deis is a contemporary Canadian artist working in Vancouver. His minutely detailed large-format photographs expose extraordinary moments hidden within regular circumstances.
Deis was born on a Canadian military station in Haida Gwaii. He is a graduate of the University of California, San Diego (MFA), and Emily Carr Institute of Art + Design, Vancouver (BFA). His artwork has been exhibited in North America, Europe, and Asia.
“I photograph spaces, not literally as in the subject of the image, but rather the tangible and intangible elements, both physical and mental, which occupy them. We live within a network of relationships that are irreconcilable with each other and when they collide they produce spaces that possess multiple fragmented meanings. I capture these collisions, which often exist only for a fraction of a second, to create images that expose the agitation between social, economic, and natural forces.
I interpret space with the same critical insight that has traditionally been given to time and history, as a record to inquire and infer upon our state of being. In a society that is constantly revising itself through ceaseless innovation of handheld electronics, rabid real estate development, and social networking, it is difficult to distill the present because our experiences are fleeting and mutable. Spatial photography enables me to offer a discerning window into the complexity concealed within our unrelenting stride for progression.
My images are not staged nor manipulated, they are captured in situ revealing details that I could not possibly preconceive. I collapse the picture plane by giving equal privilege to the background and foreground, and decentralize the subject by focusing on disparate details that in concert construct an image emblematic of the codependent layers of meaning in our daily lives.”
