HAMILTON HERITAGE BUILDINGS

The Back Alley Gallery is delighted to host an extraordinary art exhibition celebrating the beauty and history of Hamilton's architectural landmarks.  This unique show brings together artists who capture the city’s essence through stunning works that highlight its rich cultural heritage and iconic structures.  Together, we can celebrate Hamilton’s vibrant history and envision its future.  Your presence will contribute to the success of this event and help shine a spotlight on the artistic and cultural treasures of Hamilton. 

These digitally illustrated works explore Hamilton's post-industrial cityscapes, emphasizing the evocative interplay between the imposing remnants of its manufacturing past and the evolving fabric of residential development.

I am particularly fascinated by how the built environment serves as both a vessel of a city's history and a mirror of its inhabitants' stories. Abandoned factories cast their shadows over century-old row houses, their tranquility juxtaposed with smokestacks looming in the distance. This duality—simultaneously striking and unsettling—captures what I term "post-industrial tension." Through my digital illustrations, I seek to honour these distinctive urban elements with authenticity and dignity.

Rendered as limited-edition archival giclée prints, some spanning up to 8 feet in length, these works reconstruct entire city streets, inviting the viewer to metaphorically walk down the block. Each piece begins with a composite of meticulously stitched photographs, forming the foundation for a digitally painted or "rotoscoped" interpretation that distills the essence of a cohesive urban panorama.

The resulting compositions are impossibly constructed vistas that disrupt traditional notions of perspective, immersing the viewer in multiple spatial realities simultaneously. By dismantling the singularity of perspective, these works aim to evoke a world as reconstructed by memory and perception, challenging the viewer's sense of spatial continuity and narrative coherence.

 Louise is a visual storyteller from Hamilton, Ontario, who recently returned to her hometown to reconnect with its familiar yet ever-evolving landscapes. With several years of exploring photography, she focuses on capturing compelling images using an intuitive approach and a light editing touch to reveal beauty in the unexpected. Influenced by a lifelong love of film, Louise has developed an eye for bold colours, striking shapes, and subtle details that often go unnoticed. Her curiosity drives her to wonder about the stories behind her subjects, creating work that invites others to see the world a little differently. Her thoughtful perspective and growing body of work reflect her commitment to continually refining her craft and vision. 

 Caillin is a local Hamilton artist, who has studied art (at Sheridan College), animation (at Algonquin College) and artifact conservation (at Flemming College). He has worked in various museums such as the Canada Science and Technology Museum and Warplane Heritage Museum

 Caillin's work has focused on the interplay of art, architecture and sense of place. In his ongoing series of paintings "I'm so lost and I live just around the corner" Caillin borrows a line from local band the Arkells, as the inspiration to explore the lines of urban architecture and hidden places. This love of architecture has led Caillin to also explore the world of miniature model making in various materials. Further artworks focus on an illustrative style with a pop of colour, influenced by nature, pop culture, graffiti, and sequential art. Caillin also works as a goldsmith performing jewellery repair and producing custom jewellery designs. 

 Beauty, Nature and Our Man-made World

My artwork explores ideas of nature, beauty and the man-made world as well as their intertwined relationships. I like to play with collage, gel transfer prints and my photographic images of the world around me. I love the meditative act of stippling lines with nib and ink and exploring the extensive happy accidents of the ragged edges of gel transfers. I look for the beautiful patterns in nature and explore their juxtaposition with man-made objects as well as ourselves.