Douglas MacRae

BREATH OF LIFE

September 8 – October 8, 2022
Birch Contemporary

08

Thurs

Sept

Opening Reception / 6 pm – 8 pm

With special guest, Dave Roper

28

Wed

Sept

Travel Industry Night / 5:30 pm – 8 pm

and Media Reception

06

Thurs

Oct

TMFF Kick Off Party / 7 pm – 10 pm

Filmmaker meet & greet & Black Lightning

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

"As you breathe in, cherish yourself. As you breathe out, cherish all beings." – Dalai Lama

Photographer and artist, Douglas MacRae's Breath of Life show is a retrospective of his two greatest passions, travel and motorcycle racing. His lifelong wanderlust and adventurous spirit, inspired him to capture evocative cultures and extraordinary landscapes including Bhutan, Burma, Tibet, Nepal, Kenya, and Indonesia. Douglas has resided in the Dalai Lama's monastery in India, cruised the Peruvian Amazon and explored Everest Base Camp. During his 20 years as a champion racer, he shot some of the most coveted vintage racing motorcycles across North America. This exhibition is a celebration not only of Douglas' work but outliving his one year prognosis of stage 4 glioblastoma. Despite the challenges of this incurable brain cancer, he has maintained a positive mindset and is now at the three and a half year mark.

MEET THE ARTIST

Douglas MacRae

Douglas MacRae is a Toronto-based painter, photographer, motorcycle racer and world traveller. His career began designing album covers and painting photo-realistic murals of musicians including Annie Lennox, U2, and Celine Dion in New York and throughout North America, and his 20-foot Pre-Raphaelite style paintings grace the Liberty Grand in Toronto.

Doug's work expanded to international travel photography producing various campaigns in India, Peru, Kenya, Morocco, Italy, France and other iconic destinations, garnering awards from Marketing Magazine, Canadian Association of Professional Image Creators, and Lux.

His passion for motorcycle racing, with wins at Daytona, Mid-Ohio, Barber and a three-time AMA Grand Vintage Champion, evolved into photography with various editorial features in motorcycle magazines and Taschen's upcoming Ultimate Collector Motorcycles book.

In 2019, Doug was diagnosed with glioblastoma (GBM), an incurable stage four brain cancer and was given a twelve-month survival prognosis. Less than 12% of GBM patients worldwide survive three years. After two brain surgeries, he has now survived 42 months.