Canadian artist Michael Schreier arrived in Syracuse with his digital camera and ready to photograph new work, which he describes as “portraits of anonymous people.” He approaches strangers on busy downtown areas and asks to take their photograph. The encounter lasts only a moment and is documented by the date and time printed below each photograph. He is interested in the sense of integrity and overcoming of vulnerability that are established even in these brief, chance encounters. The emotional sub-context for this work is Michael’s experience of moving from his native Vienna, Austria to Canada as a child. The Syracuse portraits along with interior/exterior architectural photographs will be incorporated in an ongoing book project Tears for an Empty Desert. He has been working on this project for the past two years.

Michael lives in Ottawa, Canada. Recent exhibition venues include Peak Gallery in Toronto. He recently completed a residency at Visual Studies Workshop in Rochester, New York.