Arts·COVID Residencies

In a harsh time, photographer Dainesha Nugent-Palache is hunting for rays of sunlight

In her parents' home in Brampton, Ontario, Nugent-Palache is turning to a childhood pastime to keep her practice (and her spirits) strong.

'I think the comfort of childhood is getting me through this'

In a harsh time, Dainesha Nugent-Palache is hunting for rays of sunlight

4 years ago
Duration 3:52
In her parents' home in Brampton, Ontario, Dainesha Nugent-Palache is turning to a childhood pastime to keep her practice (and her spirits) strong.

In our self-shot video series COVID Residencies, we're checking out how artists are adapting their practices in isolation, whether it's diving into different processes or getting lost in their sketchbooks.

It goes without saying that this is a rough time. And for many artists, it's particularly scary as the ways and places necessary to continue their practice remain inaccessible. For photographer Dainesha Nugent-Palache, the events of the past months have meant a move to her parents' house and an inability to continue on some of the projects she's started. But as it turns out, there is a sort of light for Nugent-Palache in the confusion of the first half of 2020 — and it's literal.

(Dainesha Nugent-Palache)

As you'll see in this video, Nugent-Palache had a habit, as a child, of tracing the path sunlight would follow through her home. As an adult, she's returned to the pastime, using her camera to snap ethereal pictures of blurred rays piercing curtains, floorboards and other apertures in her parents' home.

For her, it's giving her a chance to continue her work in an intuitive and loose way, and it's calming her enough to think about continuing work on the projects she had to leave behind before isolation.

Follow Dainesha Nugent-Palache here and keep a lookout for the stories we're bringing you from other artists in isolation as part of COVID Residencies. Stay safe, friends!

Dainesha Nugent-Palache finding new angles on light through a mirror on the floor (left) and her light monitor (right). (Dainesha Nugent-Palache)

CBC Arts understands that this is an incredibly difficult time for artists and arts organizations across this country. We will do our best to provide valuable information, share inspiring stories of communities rising up and make us all feel as (virtually) connected as possible as we get through this together. If there's something you think we should be talking about, let us know by emailing us at cbcarts@cbc.ca. See more of our COVID-related coverage here.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lise Hosein is a producer at CBC Arts. Before that, she was an arts reporter at JazzFM 91, an interview producer at George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight and a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto. When she's not at her CBC Arts desk she's sometimes an art history instructor and is always quite terrified of bees.

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