Fair Dealing Statement

Lesley Luce, Artist

As a mixed-media artist, my work is rooted in creative curiosity, research, and discovery. I construct intricate, layered compositions using archival images, historical photographs, and cultural symbols, drawing from Canada’s artistic and institutional history. Through a process of meticulous selection, fragmentation, and repetition, I transform existing imagery into new visual narratives, exploring themes of memory, influence, and cultural identity.

By incorporating small-scale fragments of preexisting works—such as exhibition catalogues, photographs, landmarks, logos, album covers, or historical documents—I engage with their significance in a way that is both analytical and transformative. These elements are not used as reproductions but as components in a larger conceptual framework, where meaning shifts through repetition, abstraction, and composition. Each piece invites the viewer to look closely, decode its symbols, and uncover connections through the accompanying materials in the form of a legend/booklet.

Under Canada’s Copyright Act, my use of preexisting imagery qualifies as fair dealing, particularly under the categories of criticism, review, and research. My work does not serve as a substitute for the original sources; rather, it reinterprets and recontextualizes them, emphasizing their role in a broader cultural dialogue. This practice aligns with recognized traditions in appropriation art, collage, and conceptual mixed media, where past and present intersect to create new meaning.

Where applicable, sources are cited in accompanying materials in the form of a legend/booklet, ensuring transparency and acknowledging the historical and artistic origins of the imagery. My approach reflects a longstanding tradition of artists engaging with archives, visual culture, and historical materials to spark inquiry, reinterpret narratives, and invite new ways of seeing.