Simon Fleming

Strange Times + zoom	Untitled I + zoom	Untitled II + zoom	There was nothing I could say, nothing I could say + zoom
Whats in the box, bub + zoom	The way it was + zoom	Backyard BBQ 1976 + zoom	My neighbour's pool + zoom
Untitled I + zoom	Untitled II + zoom	Barnstormers and other tales of heroeism from the heartland + zoom	I remember being so nervous my hands were shaking + zoom
Supermarket sales + zoom	Untitled + zoom	Fallow fields + zoom	I always thought he was a strong man + zoom
Lost at sea and other tales of heroism I + zoom	Lost at sea and other tales of heroism II + zoom	That afternoon everything changed + zoom	Untitled + zoom
Tight turns + zoom

What is your artwork about (underlying concept, focus, themes, intent, etc)?

Most of my work relates to personal identity. I am interested in how one connects all the little pieces and in the end builds a personal, historical and social sense of self. A sense, which separates and connects the individual to the world around them. Currently I am working on a series based on my father and family's old slides and photos, these images document when our family lived in Trinidad. The slides are of my family both immediate and extended; they record places my family spent time at and where I was born. I do not remember all of the people and places found in these images but they play a historical role in who I am today. Born in Trinidad and raised in Canada, I found myself always asking 'who am I'? 'Where have I come from'? Through a tradition of oral, pictorial, and culinary story telling, aspects of a West Indian back ground or heritage have always been maintained in my family. A fondness for a place I really don't remember has been fostered. So I have tried to create a mythology of my own in conjunction with those traditions, those stories, those histories. Motivationally, I am addressing the experience of displacement, the separation of the individual from a cultural and social past. I am visually exploring my own disjointed and imprecise history, and constructing characters and places that together inform me of my own past and present sense of place.

My other focus is abstraction. This area of work deals with the exploration of a rural identity. An identity that is found in small towns, farmlands, coastal fishing areas or sometimes even ones own neighborhood. Primary to the construction of the abstract works are the typical and common visual reminders of those rural experiences. Colour, texture and often-overused stereotypes all play a role in the assembly of these works.

Is there a trigger or a starting point for each piece?

I spend a lot of time looking through old slides and photographs. I scan the backgrounds, figures, and corners. I'm looking for the painting within the picture. I scoop a figure from one picture and place her into the background of another. That is my starting point. It's the same with the abstract work but a little more specific. I usually look for surfaces, edges of buildings, shadows, and negative spaces. These are then transferred to the painting surface.

How has your work evolved over the last five years?

The abstract work is opening up more, the signs found in earlier works are not so obvious as in the newer pieces. The representational ones are moving forward time wise. I am mixing more current imagery with the slide work.

How does your physical/geographical environment inform the work you do?

With my abstract work I am fortunate to live in a smaller town with easy access to the surrounding countryside. My travels have also enabled me to spend time in the American Midwest, both coasts (Canadian East Coast and American West Coast) As well as northern rural territories of Chile. These experiences have provided me with a wealth of material for the abstract pieces.

Why are you an artist?

I couldn't imagine doing anything else.

Education/Professional Experience

• 1989-1991 — Sheridan College, Oakville, ON
• 1994-1999 — School of Fine Art & Music, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON

Selected Solo Exhibitions

Group Exhibits

Publications

• We find human nature, and ourselves, reflected in portraits, Vaughn Barclay Guelph Mercury, Friday, November 18 2005
• Old family slides inspires Simon Fleming's paintings, Vaughn Barclay Guelph Mercury, Friday, November 26, 2004
• Growing with Art, Noel Webb Echo Weekly, November 02-08, 2000