Fragments of a Metropolis is a mixed-media work combining collaged photography, screen print, transparent film and cardboard. Beginning with a photograph of illuminated buildings against Toronto’s dark-blue night sky, I cut and reassembled the image into small pieces. The fragmented background creates a refracted pattern of glowing windows, surrounded by screen-printed images of Toronto buildings, a pink grid and a final transparent layer printed in yellow.
The work also incorporates elements from two of my earlier prints, Downtown Toronto and Night Lights. Reusing these images allowed me to reconstruct the city through both new observations and fragments of my own work. The irregular collage introduces a sense of urban chaos, while the repeated windows, lights and grid create a quieter rhythm that gradually becomes familiar.
Separating the printed layers gives the work physical depth. As the viewer moves around it, the images shift in relation to one another, changing the composition when seen from the side. Rather than presenting Toronto from a single viewpoint, the work brings together partial images, memories and previous representations of the city. The title refers to this process of taking fragments of a metropolis and assembling them into a new whole.
Technical Details:
Mixed media: collaged photograph, screen print, transparent film and cardboard.
Year: 2025.
Framed dimensions: 41 × 53 cm.
Fragments of a Metropolis is a mixed-media work combining collaged photography, screen print, transparent film and cardboard. Beginning with a photograph of illuminated buildings against Toronto’s dark-blue night sky, I cut and reassembled the image into small pieces. The fragmented background creates a refracted pattern of glowing windows, surrounded by screen-printed images of Toronto buildings, a pink grid and a final transparent layer printed in yellow.
The work also incorporates elements from two of my earlier prints, Downtown Toronto and Night Lights. Reusing these images allowed me to reconstruct the city through both new observations and fragments of my own work. The irregular collage introduces a sense of urban chaos, while the repeated windows, lights and grid create a quieter rhythm that gradually becomes familiar.
Separating the printed layers gives the work physical depth. As the viewer moves around it, the images shift in relation to one another, changing the composition when seen from the side. Rather than presenting Toronto from a single viewpoint, the work brings together partial images, memories and previous representations of the city. The title refers to this process of taking fragments of a metropolis and assembling them into a new whole.
Technical Details:
Mixed media: collaged photograph, screen print, transparent film and cardboard.
Year: 2025.
Framed dimensions: 41 × 53 cm.
