Sara Angelucci | Undergrowth – Art Gallery of Mississauga

Sara Angelucci | Undergrowth
Curated by Shannon Anderson

About the Exhibition
Sara Angelucci transforms found photographs and creates images exposing the cultural and historical conditions outside the image frame, bringing attention to the social forces that generate the language of photography.

Undergrowth brings together several bodies of work produced over the last decade that examine the ways in which photographic practices have contributed to the divide between humans and nature. This direction finds its impetus in her series Aviary (2013), which morphs images of extinct or endangered birds with found Victorian cartes-de-visite portraits to form strange, hybrid creatures. These works, alongside series such as Arboretum (2016) and the sculptural installation Sightings (Ivory-Billed Woodpecker) (2015), consider the implications of the historical Western impulse to capture and classify nature.

Angelucci’s most recent works are grounded in environmental engagement, investigating local plant species and the vulnerable habitats we disturb. Nocturnal Botanical Ontario (2019–ongoing) highlights the intricate webs of native, introduced, and invasive plant species in our immediate proximity, while her video Ghost Orchard (2022) captures the overrun growth of an abandoned orchard just before impending plans for urban redevelopment will cause its disappearance.

Throughout these interconnected projects, Angelucci offers thoughtful and intimate acts of attention that evolve from a place of reverence and respect, as she seeks to examine and reconcile our relationship with the natural world.

Undergrowth is co-presented by the Art Gallery of Mississauga, the Art Gallery of Sudbury, the Varley Art Gallery of Markham, and Tom Thomson Art Gallery.

The artist would like to thank the Toronto Arts Council, the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts for their support of work included in this exhibition.

Funding for the Art Gallery of Mississauga is provided by the City of Mississauga, the Ontario Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts, TD Bank Group, Rama Gaming House, and Charitable Gaming Community Good.

Undergrowth is part of the CONTACT Photography Festival.