Artist Statement

For nearly 20-years I have been a documentary photographer and portraitist though recently my practice took a turn and is now leaning towards performance art with myself as the focus.

In my personal practice I constantly push my own physical and artistic boundaries in order to challenge my craft. For my project I, Voyageur…In Search of Frances Anne Hopkins I went on a 70-day canoe trip dressed in 19th century period costume following in the footsteps of the relatively unknown British painter. Utilizing a variety of photographic practices including alternative processes, analog and video and exhibiting ephemera from the journey such as my dress and canoe, I create a mythological world where I cross in and out of Frances Anne’s life.

As a middle-aged woman I’ve begun experiencing my diminished importance not just within the art world, but from society as a whole. All industries within Western culture reward fleeting youth and beauty at the expense of everyone else. At my age, I not only deal with gender disparity, but ageism as well. By giving once invisible women like Frances Anne a voice, I empower their legacies and my own.

Accolades include the FUAM Book Dummy Award for Haddon Hall in 2019, a Canada Council for the Arts’ “New Chapter’” Grant in 2017, a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in 2013, a Long-Term Career Advancement Grant from the Canada Council in 2012, and the 2001 International Prize for Young Photojournalism from Agfa/Das Bildforum. When not in the studio you can find Naomi walking her dog Maggie or curling, a sport she’s recently embraced.