Many Long Moments

A shady balcony, a sunny lawn, a busy cafe. The shutter on the camera clicked and, in one sixtieth of a second, the scene was paused and recorded. Many Long Moments is a collection of drawings from photographs featuring locals in their homes and businesses from the Danforth/Greenwood area. In a style influenced by both photorealism and fan art, Marjan Verstappen has reverently redrawn these photographs as a way of turning turning family snapshots into works of art that will be preserved, even as houses change hands and families move on.

Caressed by the pencil, hand and eye, it takes days to reproduce the image the camera recorded in a fraction of a second. This decompression of time means Verstappen has become intimately acquainted with every facial expression, hula hoop, pot plant, and brick wall, getting to know the neighbourhood face by face, object by object, living room by living room.

Displayed in a laneway between Lamb and Gilliger Avenues, the drawings incite intimacy in a semi public setting. The exhibition seeks accidental discovery by neighbours experiencing a chance meeting, children playing in their backyards, and bored teenagers escaping their family homes.

It is possible that viewers will see a face they recognize, or a piece of furniture they discarded, or a living room they once visited, revealing the complex web connections transpiring in the neighbourhood. 


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