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BIOGRAPHY
The first eighteen years of my life were spent on the family farm in rural Saskatchewan where we have seeded and harvested the same land for over 125 years. The farmhouse was surrounded by an unobstructed horizon with endless skies and straight roads. Enduring an extreme environment - from arctic cold winters to desert hot summers - cultivated an understanding of our impact on the land and how to work within the earth's cycles. In the winter months my father worked as a boiler engineer. At an early age I would often go to work with him and soon became fascinated by the pipes, lights, gauges and dials; the inner working of the building's heating system. This spawned an interest in manmade systems and environments, which to me were equally beautiful and complex.
The prairie environment of my upbringing has granted me a strong spatial sense and the ability to see and capture lines, atmosphere, movement and light.
My personal photographs are provoked by a curiosity to explore, observe and capture urban and rural spaces that appear isolated and empty despite traces of human presence. The intention of this work is to document, reinterpret conventional perceptions and assign worth to the urban void. Reflecting the beauty that exists there, making the ordinary appear extraordinary and blur the lines between reality and fiction. To me the nocturnal urban landscape is as magnificent as a constellation of stars.
Kristopher Grunert.
