Fitzgerald, Christine (2022) - Blue Impressions [Digital print from cyanotype prints mounted on aluminum] ©Government of Ontario Art Collection, Archives of Ontario
Christine Fitzgerald is a photo-based artist from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Her work is informed by her French-Canadian roots and love of the natural environment. Fitzgerald values the historical continuity of photography and views photography as a medium for creating unique physical objects. She often uses large format cameras and vintage lenses and adapts and combines historical photographic methods with digital technology, experimenting with photographic printing techniques, substrates, and the manual application of pigment. Fitzgerald likes to experiment with the imperfections and permutations achieved from mixing current and obsolete photographic techniques, allowing her to push the boundaries of her medium and create a unique aesthetic. In 2023, Fitzgerald received the prestigious Karsh Award from the City of Ottawa for her outstanding body of work and significant contribution to the artistic discipline in a photo/lens-based medium. In 2024, Fitzgerald was inducted into the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.
Ottawa artist Christine Fitzgerald has been collaborating with the River Institute (Cornwall, ON) to photograph species at risk along the St. Lawrence River using historical photographic processes merged with modern technology. In July 2022, she led a public workshop teaching participants from the Cornwall and nearby Akwesasne communities how to create blue cyanotypes, one-of-a-kind prints made by exposing river specimens on light sensitive paper. The plant and animal life depicted in these images were inspired by key ecological indicators reflecting the state of the river identified in The Great River Rapport (www.riverrapport.ca), an initiative led by the River Institute in Cornwall in partnership with the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne (MCA) and framed in the Haudenosaunee Ohèn:ton Karihwatéhkwen (Thanksgiving Address). These vivid images were created from the most basic elements on earth – water from the river, light from the sun, minerals from the land for the light-sensitive paper, and natural river specimens. This installation of cyanotype prints provides an opportunity to showcase collaboration between creative action and scientific research, as well as community engagement in environmental stewardship.
* The artist wishes to acknowledge the financial support from the Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition for this project.