A kaleidscopic abstraction based on a source image of a relief sculpture on the side of the old Toronto Board of Education office.  In this image, you can see a figure kneeling in front of the "lamp of learning".  This is multiplied several times to produce the kaleidoscopic abstraction.  Kenneth Zeller was a teacher in this Board.  As a consequence of his death, Trustee Olivia Chow (now Mayor of Toronto) enacted anti-discrimination policies and training for teachers as well as advocating for LGBTQ positive curriculum.

Out of the Darkness

Toronto 04, June 22, 1985, Education Centre

A close-up detail of the Frontenac subways station was easy to adapt to my post-production rendition.  The shades of blues from the sky as well as the silver siding from the edge of the building are used for the color base.  The lines within the building’s edge and the roof detail enabled me to create this complex geometry that seems to pull the viewer into the center.  The intense spiral seems to oscillate between light and dark shades of blue.

There has been some discussion of putting a memorial in the plaza behind this subway station.  Joe Rose, a gay and HIV activist, was fatally stabbed in a hate crime on a Montreal bus which was just about to arrive at this station.  See the creation story for details about this incident.


Montreal 03, March 19, 1989, Frotenac subway station

The complex geometry is created from a source image of the upper facade of the Oslo Courthouse which is located in the same square as the London Pub, a local gay bar, where the incident started to unravel.  Only the windows above the main entrance are in this final image.  This monochromatic image  seems to unfold like a white chrysanthemum which engages the viewer and draws them in.

Oslo 03, June 25, 2022, Oslo Courthouse

The source image for Orlando 02 are the front doors of the Orlando Regional Medical Centre.  I never change colours in any of my works, but I will super saturate them.  The original image shows hints of blues and pinks.  It is purely coincidental that the colours resemble the those found in the Trans Rights flag.  This piece was created many years after Orlando 01. Sometimes, I’m able to find more than one source image for an event.  The Orlando Regional Medical Centre is the founding sponsor of the National Pulse Memorial & Museum.  It took me a while to finalize this image to my satisfaction.  I started it in December 2017 but the final images was completed in November 2021 – almost 4 years later.

Orlando 02, June 12, 2016, Orlando Regional Medical Center

The source image is from the facade of the Orlando Regional Medical Center which is just blocks away from the Pulse Nightclub.  In the darkened blue windows of the hospital, you can see a reflection of an adjacent brown brick building and the silhouette of the palm trees.  Upon closer inspection of the final abstraction, these palm fronds are most visible in the lighter and brown sections of the photograph.  The final image is a very bold kaleidoscope of very deep blues and complimentary mahogany and mocha browns.

The first edition of Orlando01 was also sold at the SNAP Live Auction Fundraiser a few years back, raising a total of $3,500.  As well, the second edition is hanging in the lobby of the Aids Committee of Toronto offices.

This event led to the creation of the onePulse Foundation and coined the hashtag #WeWillNotLetHateWin.  

See the creation story for more details.


Orlando 01, June 12, 2016, Orlando Regional Medical Center

The source image for this piece were the exterior windows at the Centro de Justicia where Daniel's murders were tried and convicted.  Justice alone was not enough, Chile enacted new anti-discrimination laws, called La Ley Zamudio, which provided much needed protections to many groups, as well as the LGBTQ+ community.  With the introduction of a slight curve, I was able to convert the grid-like courthouse windows into a blue cat’s eye marble. See more about Daniel’s story below.

The death of Daniel Zamudio piqued my interest in that, from such a hateful crime, there was some good that came of it.  Of course, we can never bring Daniel back.  However, healing took the form of justice and political change.  I have noticed that in my series, Out of the Darkness, other similar incidents are agents of change.  See Orlando 01 and 02, Oslo 03, Montreal 03, and Toronto 04.


Santiago 02, March 27, 2012, Centro de Justicia

This a subset of pieces from the series Out of the Darkness that deal exclusively with acts of violence based on homophobia and gender identity.

Never Surrender - Out of the DarknessCollection

Never Surrender - Out of the Darkness
Collection