Alyssa Sweeney, Thrift, 2022. Giclée print on foam board. Courtesy of the artist.

Confined by Darkness
Alyssa Sweeney

August 3 – September 8, 2023
Closing Reception: Friday, September 8, 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.
McIntosh Gallery, London ON

Confined by Darkness uses night photography to explore themes of place attachment and psychogeography of the surrounding environment. By venturing out alone while most are fast asleep Sweeney captures images in a way that most people infrequently see. Sweeney explores the emotional and mental connection to being physically present within the space, thus rendering the subject matter available for individuals to evoke their own experiences and memories in response.

In his book Night Photography: Finding Your Way in the Dark (2010), Lance Keimig argues that “Photographing at night requires one to look at the world from a different perspective. Night photography should not be considered merely an extension of daytime photography because night light transforms the known world into something unfamiliar and strange.” In an effort to desensitize spaces that may seem appalling or frightening, Sweeney examines how such spaces are contradictory to how they are interpreted during daylight.

About the Artist

Alyssa Sweeney is an artist from Beachville, Ontario, currently based in London, Ontario, completing her Master of Fine Arts at Western University. Sweeney received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2021 from the School of Creative Arts at the University in Windsor, Ontario. In 2021, she was one of two Canadian artists to participate in a month-long residency at Imago Artist Residency in Leshten, Bulgaria. Sweeney has exhibited at the Ivey School of Business in London, Ontario, Little Bird Place in Sofia, Bulgaria, SoCA Galleries in Windsor, Ontario, and the Glasgow Gallery of Photography in Glasgow, Scotland. Confined by Darkness is her graduate thesis exhibition.

Graduate student exhibitions at McIntosh Gallery are presented in memory of King’s College alumnus Gregory Franklin Child through the generous support of Western University Arts and Humanities alumni Paula Case Child and Timothy Child.

McIntosh Gallery
1151 Richmond Street N.
London, ON, N6A 3K7
mcintoshgallery.ca
Facebook / Twitter / Instagram: @McIntoshGallery

Summer Hours
Monday to Friday: 10 AM – 5 PM
McIntosh Gallery offers free admission to all exhibitions
We regret that McIntosh Gallery is not wheelchair accessible