Lower Mainland

Much of Roy Arden's work is dedicated to investigating history and its relation to art, photography and the urban landscape, specifically that of Vancouver. His photographs express what he terms the "landscape of economy," or the social and economic forces at play in the everyday. His choice of subject matter often reveals a deep scepticism of progress, a dilemma that results in works that focus on the failures of modernity and the detritus of contemporary life. For example, "Lower Mainland" shows the corner of a yard where hydrangeas and geraniums bloom amid a dispiriting setting of asphalt and concrete, rusted chain-link fences, and bloated garbage bags. Arden's work challenges the advertising slogan idea of "Beautiful British Columbia" by depicting the traces of social and economic conflicts that have occurred in Vancouver over time, even though, in some cases, there has been a concerted effort to deny or repress such concerns.