Synopsis
 Taking his cue from the wealth of historical pictorial painting of the Canadian landscape, filmmaker Greg Hewett re-imagines what it means to be a landscape painter today through the eyes and brushes of artist David Pirrie.
Greg poses the simple question what does it mean to have an exhibition of one’s work, how and when does an artist arrive at a point in their career where a large exhibition of their work can change the game so to speak. A mystery to most, the path of an artist through the gallery world is revealed, and it’s not all easy.
Greg became inspired by David Pirrie’s work by his unique representation of the mountains of Western Canada. This in turn led Greg on a year long trek through both the mountains of BC and the art world, following David as he prepares for a major solo exhibition. Along the way, we find a story that is inspirational for the creative spirit, leaving us with perhaps a new way of seeing our environment. |
About the Filmmaker
 Greg Hewett grew up in Shawnigan Lake on Vancouver Island. This is where his love and appreciation of the outdoors began. He annually hikes the rugged West Coast Trail and has a long list of world and local trail and mountaineering destinations to conquer. Greg moved to Vancouver in 1999 to attend film school. Upon completion he quickly gained entry into the sound department. In 2007, 2008 and 2009, Greg and his team of three were nominated for an Emmy for best sound in a dramatic series for the show 'Battlestar Galactica'.
In 2008 he made his directorial debut with the short film 'Basket Casket'. A five minute silent short film about a young man who goes on a routine fishing trip and comes face to face with his past decisions and reassesses as the life of his helpless catch hangs in the balance. It was an official selection at the Vail, Winnipeg and Edmonton international film festivals. He is currently writing, directing and producing the feature length documentary, "THE PANTAGES" a Canadian National Treasure. This story revolves around the fate of the oldest remaining Pantages theatre in North America. It will also serve as an examination of the our Country's local, provincial and national heritage protection laws.
Contact: Hand Cut Films | Vancouver, BC | 604-724-5690 | shawnigan2@hotmail.com
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About the Artist
 David Pirrie lives and works in Vancouver, BC and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Concordia University in 1991. Since 2001 David has had exhibitions in Turin Italy, New York, Seattle, Bologna Italy, Toronto, and in British Columbia at the Surrey Art Gallery, Simon Fraser University Gallery, the Kelowna Art Gallery and State Gallery. His most recent solo exhibition was Codified Topographies at the Douglas Udell Gallery in Vancouver.
One of the constant variables in David’s work over the years has been a close analysis and detailed study of his subject, be it mountain topography, the human body, or car crashes. David has also been an avid mountaineer for 20 years and has climbed many of the mountains in his paintings. His new works continue an almost scientific inquiry of mountain topography in Western Canada. Like a form of cataloguing, the paintings and drawings are a type of meditation on nature, geography, technology, and mapping. Quoting from David, “codification plays to the core of seeking knowledge, ascribing meaning, value and ranking. These ideas also play to the core of my being an artist, however, where I depart from the science of objectivity is trying to relay the emotional and physical situations where our need for accurate definition is way beyond our grasp”.
Link: David Pirrie web site
Link: Catalog from recent showing |
Written, Directed and Produced by: Greg Hewett
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