Yorkton photographer Margaret Phillips was the focus of the Godfrey Dean Art Gallery's latest artist reception on October 2.
Phillips, the winner of the inaugural Parkland Arts Award at the 2009 Parkland Regional Artist Development Opportunity (PRADO) weekend, is featured in a solo exhibition titled "Alleys" currently on display at the gallery.
The exhibition is made up entirely of photographs taken in Yorkton's back alleyways. "Yorkton has wonderful alleys," said Phillips. "Some of them are just tunnels of green and lush patterns of light and shadow as the light comes filtering through the fences."
The project was inspired by Phillips' habit of taking shortcuts through the city's downtown alleys on her way to and from work. "Some of the first things I noticed were the bricked-up doorways and windows, where they were obviously traffic routes at one time but no longer are. So that was one of the themes I wanted to develop, was this change in pathways."
Other themes emerged as she worked: social spots staked out by smokers on their breaks, and a strange contrast between the safe, child-friendly atmosphere of the alleys during the day and their dark, dangerous reputation at night.
There is a mystery surrounding alleys, said Phillips.
"I noticed that you can walk down an alley and not really know what you're behind. You can't necessarily correspond the back of a place with the front of the place. I thought that was interesting.
"They're almost forgotten spaces. People don't pay much attention to them. Especially downtown-they put a lot of attention into the front of the business, and really it's a false front."
"Alleys" is on display at the Godfrey Dean Art Gallery until October 28.
