“I have always been fascinated by photo-realism; by the fact that an artist can recreate an object or a scene with a precision that is close to reality. When I discovered the works of Mary Pratt, I was immediately captured by her ability to conserve the interesting textures of everyday objects. Inspired by her work Split Grilse, I try to conserve the precision of the details as well as the level of luminosity of the colours in order to create the illusion of photo-realism in my work, Poivrons grillés. I also add contrast in order to imitate the theatrical and photographic qualities of my reference photo, just as Mary Pratt did. As someone who has been vegan for many years, I cook with diverse ingredients, that often possess interesting textures. This project has taught me the extent to which things that seem simple are in fact complex when we take the time to study them.”

—Olivier Thibault (Grade 8, École secondaire publique De La Salle, Ottawa, Ontario)

Newfoundland-based painter Mary Pratt (1935–2018) created a number of meticulously rendered images of food over the course of her career, bringing the historical still life genre into the contemporary moment with a photographic realism that she continues to be celebrated for.