Beverley Abramson

Beverley Abramson is an award winning Canadian photographer based in Toronto who is making her mark in the international arena.

Her work can be viewed at http://www.system4.ca/current_exhibit.htm

As a social documentarian and versatile photo essayist, Abramson’s humanistic stories - expressions of daily life within disparate cultures - employ a distinct style marked by empathy and wit. Her socio-cultural portfolio on the Middle East during the last decade, particularly at the height of the second intifada, is a reflection of her determination to investigate the resilience and compassion within a complex society.

Her other major work for the past seven years, Gotta Dance: the Exotic Language of the Body, is a celebration of music and dance showcasing images selected from various portfolios of diverse and unusual dance forms and cultures. This evolving project was launched after Abramson experienced the sounds of Cuba’s legendary Buena Vista Social Club and witnessed the wild abandon and spontaneous dancing in the audience. Captivated and inspired not only by the music of these aging musicians but also by their renewed rise to fame, she had the privilege of meeting and photographing them. Thereafter, she discovered her passion and became immersed in a study on the universality of music and the relationship between sound, motion and emotion. This paved the way to entering the world of performing artists — dancers, musicians, and singers — during performances and in the intimate and often chaotic surroundings backstage.

Abramson’s dance portfolio of duo toned black and white prints includes her most recent work from Israel’s classical and contemporary dance scene, as well as international competitive ballroom and Latin American dance, two-stepping in Texas, synchronized water ballet competitions, exotic dance in Toronto, Brazilian samba and capoeira, Spanish flamenco, and varied performances in Cuba.

Subsequent to her first book, Bawdy Language: Exotic Dance, other publications based on the theme of motion are: Off We Go! for young children, McClelland Stewart/Tundra Books, March 2006; the powerHouse Portfolio Volume 1, an inaugural portfolio of emerging photographers, March 2006; and a work in progress, Gotta Dance: the Exotic Language of the Body.

Beverley is one of the artists featured in the show, the sale of her work will benefit the Peace Preschool in Jerusalem. This show is your opportunity to help children who have not yet been tainted by the hatred of religion to grow and develop, much like a piece of art develops in the eye of the artist, naturally and sequentially.

Jerusalem Defined a gala/fundraiser for the Peach Preschool in Jerusalem takes place Monday, April 28th, 2008, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at System 4 Gallery, 70 Wingold Ave. To purchase your ticket for $60, please contact System 4 at 416 741 5542 or info@system 4.ca


Jerusalem Defined runs until May 31st, 2008