Judy Burns
The Western Star Project
March 1 to April 27, 2003
This exhibition features a selection of black and white photographs taken by Kelowna-based multi-media artist Judy Burns. The photographs depict the people and work site of the now closed Western Star truck manufacturing plant.
One of the biggest news stories in Kelowna last year was the shutdown of the Okanagan's largest private sector employer, Western Star. In the fall of 2001, Judy Burns approached the company about photographing the work site and its employees prior to its slated closure in the fall of 2002. At the time this subject suited a larger self-directed photo essay project Judy Burns started in 2001 which focused on documenting locations, events and times in the Okanagan that are often overlooked. Between May and July of 2002, Burns spent over 100 hours on the Western Star site. In the end, she added over 1,700 photographs to her portfolio and was instrumental in the production of a 220-page photographic art book which the company commissioned Burns to produce as a commemorative tribute to the employees of Western Star.
Burns' photographs capture the 'essence of Western Star' by presenting images of this unique workplace and the men and women who were a part of its legacy. This exhibition, entitled Judy Burns: The Western Star Project, has two objectives. One is to bring attention to this major photographic project which was initiated and produced by a local artist and which documents a local, and now historic event. The other objective is to present viewers with another perspective of a place that is largely unknown to those of us who did not work there. Burns' photographs take the viewer inside Western Star and put a human face to this manufacturing site during its final months. In the faces, shapes, patterns and reflections, Judy Burns shares with us how she saw this worksite through the eyes of an artist.
Linda Sawchyn
Curator
