Through the Wetlands

About Through the Wetlands

Long dark grasses and cattails form a patterned lattice through which the fall sky pushes through. This atmospheric photograph that captures the essence of a wetland is created in two pieces. Labbé's beautiful compositions experiment with the interaction between the camera, movement and time. Captured through the window of a moving vehicle using a low shutter speed to blur the patterns and colours of subjects, the image is further abstracted by digital manipulation.

“Rather than using photography as a medium of documentation, I prefer experimenting with its creative possibilities and its ability to distort our perception of time and space." Etienne Labbé

Labbe's large-format chromogenic prints are on archival paper, mounted on a dibond (an aluminum composite panel) and faced cleanly with plexiglas. A stainless steel channel is mounted to the work on the back for easy installation. Each print is unique. Labbe only makes 3 variations (cropped in different proportions) from each photograph.

Québec born Etienne Labbé trained as a molecular biologist in Montréal and Toronto. As an artist, he has worked in several mediums – sculpture, watercolour, mixed media and photography. His work consists of rapidly shifting scale, colour, light and mood explorations. Movement is a creative and transformative force by which ordinary landscapes are altered. Labbé’s work is held in several private collections across Canada.