Artists and Researchers
Donald Lawrence first studied camera obscuras during his BFA studies at the University of
Victoria and created his first walk-in, panoramic obscura during his MFA at York University. Since then
much of Lawrence’s art-making practice has continued to be based in camera technology, often in
tandem with his particular interest in sea kayaking, and his research into the meeting places of urban
and wilderness cultures. His sprawling Underwater Pinhole Photography Project (ongoing since 1997)
has been shown extensively at galleries and museums across Canada, while newer projects such as
Kepler’s Klepper (2011) and Quidi Vidi Camera Obscura (2014) have taken the form of kayak-based
camera obscuras themselves. Lawrence is the lead researcher of Camera Obscura Project. He is a
professor of visual art at Thompson Rivers University.
Desire Machine is the collaborative duo of Holly Ward and Kevin Schmidt. Employing a
multitude of artistic methodologies, Desire Machine works to dissolve distinctions between art and life,
work and leisure, unifying all aspects of cultural production into artistic inquiry. Their previous work,
The Pavilion: Phase 2, involved moving a geodesic dome/ artist project space from a temporary urban
setting to a permanent rural location. Both artists divide their time between Berlin and Vancouver.
Their individual work has been shown extensively throughout Canada and Europe.
Doug Smarch Jr. was raised in the traditional lifestyle of the Kookhitaan (Raven) Clan People of
the Tlingit Nation. He learned stone, bone and wood carving under family and community artisans. In
1999, Smarch graduated from the Institute of American Indian Arts and in 2001 received a Bachelor
of Fine Arts from the San Francisco Arts Institute. His work has been shown at The Museum of
Anthropology Vancouver, Art Gallery of Alberta, and the Museum of Native Americans in Zurich.
Carsten Wirth is an artist and researcher from Darmstadt, Germany. His paintings question the
contemporary imagery of the predominant media by readdressing differing modes of image-making
that derive from reappropriated historical methods and materials of painting. He has written and
published extensively about the history of camera obscuras.
Andrew Wright works at the intersection of traditional and conceptual forms of art-making.
His work has been shown extensively in Canada—with recent solo exhibitions at Ottawa Art Gallery,
Cambridge Gallery and Oakville Galleries—and in Beijing, Madrid, Seoul, and Chicago. Wright is an
Associate Professor of Visual Art and Chair of the Department of Visual Arts at the University of Ottawa.
Mike Yuhasz lived in Dawson City from 1995-2008, before relocating to Ontario. His practice
utilizes photography, video and installation, often with aspects of performance and public intervention.
His projects often investigate utopic facades and their dystopic realities. His work has been exhibited
at Yukon Arts Centre Gallery, Art Gallery of Alberta, the McMichael Canadian Art Collection and Gallery
44 Centre for Contemporary Photography in Toronto.
Midnight Sun Camera Obscura Festival