Rob Elphinstone

Rob Elphinstone was born in 1958 and grew up in Calgary, Canada, and spent his youth travelling about the world. He went to Afghanistan during the Soviet occupation of the country acting as a photographer with "Doctors without Borders" (MSF). For months he wandered through the Hindu Kush mountains with the mujahedin experiencing first hand what it feels like to be under attack in a war.
He worked in space physics for many years, researching the Aurora Borealis (the Northern Lights) both from the ground and from satellites in space. He has authored more than 50 publications on the northern lights including review articles and has lectured extensively throughout the world.

Rob Elphinstone specializes in capturing the beauty of the Canadian west coast through his textured wild flowing landscapes. His art reflects the belief that our senses reveal only a shadow of what we truly experience. Rob feels that the beauty of a place is seldom captured by a photo or a video. Our senses take in a fraction of what we perceive about the world. This tiny fraction is the shadow of what is really there. Good art should not have to be about what the inner psyche experiences or displaying perfectly what is optically there but should...

General Background

Self taught artist and photographer. Trained as a space physicist at the University of Calgary Institute for Space Physics.
-Employed as research assistant at the University of Calgary Institute for Space Research from 1978 to 1999
-Author of over 50 peer reviewed papers about the northern lights (please see attached list)
-Member of program committee for various organizations including NATO Workshop on Physical Signatures of Magnetospheric Boundary Layer, Sundvollen, Norway, 1993
-In 1985 served as a photographer with Doctors without Borders for a 6 month trip into Afghanistan
- Operator of the V5 image instrument on board the Swedish Viking satellite, 1986
-2002 began as a professional artist







Shows/Exhibitions:

Urban Eyes Art Exhibition, Nanaimo Art Gallery, 150 Commercial Street, 2nd Floor Art Space, 29 Commercial Street, Nanaimo, BC. April 20-22, 2006.

Nanaimo Art Gallery Annual Floral Art Exhibit, Nanaimo Art Gallery, 150 Commercial Street, Nanaimo, BC, April 1-15, 2006.

"Landscapes and Timescapes", Group show, ACA Gallery, 183 Queen St. East, Toronto, Ontario, March 18-April 1, 2006.
http://www.acagallery.com/

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