Madison Chow: Overflow
September 9–October 24, 2026
Student Gallery
The water has a body, and so do I. A body as old as time itself, one that has ebbed and flowed for longer than I can comprehend. Yet within the tradition of photography, we have often constrained bodies of water and other natural elements to romantic fragments within their time. We halt them within the photographic moment, failing to recognize water for its ephemeral and animate nature, one that requires our dedication and time to understand.
Overflow seeks to recognize picture as privilege by inviting water to be a collaborator in the photographic process. By using a camera-less medium, the traditional colonial gaze of the lens is removed from the creation of the image, allowing the water to take a leading role in its own imaging. To create these images, I met the water at the shoreline, often in the quiet of morning, and arranged a composition that included nearby flora, natural objects from along the shore, or my own body. As the water rushed to meet the paper it slowly carved its features into the material, aided by both natural and artificial UV light. Guided by intuition, what emerged were vibrant self-portraits of one of Earth’s most dynamic elements, existing as both abstract documentation of an uncontrollable force and a tangible record of the strong connection between myself and these bodies of water that have been forged over time. Made on visits to both freshwater and saltwater bodies, Overflow exists as part of a personal pursuit to image the natural world in a truthful, respectful, and reciprocal manner, placing importance on learning to revere the oceans and lakes that surround us.
– Madison Chow
Madison Chow, Saltwater Lumen #1, 2024, lumen print replicated as digital print. Courtesy of the artist
Madison Chow, Saltwater Lumen, (Full Body), Pacific Ocean, 2024, lumen print replicated as digital print
Madison Chow, Freshwater Photogram, Lake Ontario, 2025, photogram replicated as digital print
Artist Bio
Madison Chow is a visual artist and photographer whose work focuses primarily on the natural world around us and our connections to it. Working with digital, analogue, and alternative processes, Chow's work takes on a variety of forms, emphasizing the tangibility of photographic objects. Within these mediums she has thoroughly explored the notion of the landscape image, seeking to extend our vision of natural spaces by elongating the photographic moment in Organic Soul and focusing on photographic collaboration with the water in Overflow.
As an artist, Madison seeks to use both lens-based and camera-less media as a conduit for thorough reflection, healing, and empowerment. Most notably she has produced artwork that interrogates her upbringing in a religious community, including projects such as Works of the Flesh, which has been acquired by Toronto Metropolitan University’s Special Collections Library. Her work has been exhibited in group shows at galleries such as Artspace TMU, the Grimsby Public Art Gallery, and Calgary Contemporary, and she has participated in public art exhibitions such as Maximum Exposure and the Exposure Photography Festival: Northwest Showcase. The recipient of multiple awards, Madison has also had her work featured in numerous publications, including BLUR Magazine, Petal Projections, and Function magazine.
