Bryn Robinson: This Town

About the Artist

Photography is simply a way that I can hold on to a moment in time, with all of its beauty and flaws and emotions packaged into a single frame. Art has always been an interest of mine, and finally I’ve stumbled upon a medium that best approximates the images I have in my head.

A self-taught photographer, I began pursuing photography as a hobby three years ago while finishing my PhD in experimental and applied psychology at UNB Saint John. I shoot with minimal equipment, but I’m always trying to think of new ways to push more meaning and/or creativity into a picture. Along with a different perspective and other local shutterbugs providing artistic camaraderie, this approach helps me to improve each time I go out to shoot.

To me, the purpose of any art is to make you think and reconsider the world around you. It should stir emotions of any and all sorts. And, most importantly, it should be fun. If I’ve done all that, then I’ve accomplished my goal.

Artist Statement

My first exhibit entitled, “This Town”, is a series of colour photographs of urban landscapes and architectural elements of Saint John, New Brunswick.

I grew up in Saint John, attended university here for both my undergraduate and graduate degrees, and now work in the city. As a willing, long-time resident, I’ve noticed that a common sentiment with many former classmates and acquaintances is an eagerness to escape: escape the fog, the industry, the small scale, for something bigger and better. But my thoughts on the city are best captured by Carl Jung:

“It all depends on how we look at things, and not how they are in themselves.”

I want to encourage the viewer to look at the local landscapes with new wonder and sense of the beauty surrounding us. Some of the photographs simply capture familiar landmarks at a different angle, while others focus on bringing out the beauty in the city through the intensity of colours or the mood of the scene.

This is my open love letter to the city. After viewing the photographs in this series, I hope that viewers can have a renewed appreciation for this town.