After 30 years as a dentistry specialist in Sydney, Cape Breton, Lynn Ellis says she had to leave to fully pursue her love of photography.
“I was almost in everybody’s mouth in Cape Breton Island,” she said during an interview with the South Shore Breaker. “I wanted a new identity.”
To explore that identity, Ellis moved to Lunenburg in 2014 and hasn’t looked back; she has since graduated from Maine Media College with a Master of Fine Arts and has put together several exhibits .
Her latest work — Silent Voice — will be shown at the Lunenburg School of the Arts from June 16 to 22. Admission is free.
Ellis said the last five years have allowed her to explore her life-long fascination with photography.
“I almost think I was born to be a photographer but didn’t get the opportunity until later in life,” she recounted, adding she hopes to produce work for years to come.
She said the nuances of light and composition have been a draw since childhood.
And now, through roughly 30 photos, Ellis said Silent Voice will explore the loneliness of her childhood.
“Really, it’s kind of the story of Cape Breton,” she said.
“There’s been so much disappointment, it’s been so vulnerable and yet it’s trying to transform itself into this beautiful tourist destination.”
Ellis stressed loneliness but also courage as themes throughout her work; growing up she struggled to connect with her autistic mother and alcoholic father.
However, photography has given her a way to express that loneliness.
“It’s narrative photography, it’s storytelling,” she said, explaining she aims to photograph ideas, not things.
The exhibit will tell this story through self-portraits and landscapes, including the use of nudity.
Ellis said she chose to use nudity because it communicates vulnerability.
And years after leaving, Ellis said she has projects planned to return to her Cape Breton roots.
“There’s some stories there that I want to tell with my photography,” she said.
Following its time in Lunenburg, the exhibit is then expected to be on display in Annapolis Royal for a month.
Ellis’ work has also been exhibited in Rome, Italy, and Rockport, Maine.
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