Work — Lorraine Simms

Recent Paintings

In these process-oriented works, I focus on representing dried leaves and other flora. Evoking the scientific tradition of specimen collecting and study, I paint the same motif, based on close observation, until the canvas is fully covered. During this process of duplication, the forms begin to vary in small ways. This echoes the repetitiveness of quotidian actions and circadian rhythms, always similar but never the same. In these works, as in life, repetition becomes a catalyst for transformation, signifying hope, perseverance, and dedication.

Cat’s Cradle, 2025
oil on canvas, 132 x 122 cm / 52” x 48”

Pendulum, 2025
Oil on canvas, 96.5 x 127 cm / 38” x 50”

Yellow, 2025
Oil on canvas, 137 x 122 cm / 54” x 48”

Impermanence, 2025
Oil on canvas, 112 x 117 cm / 44 x 46”

Double Portrait, 2024
oil on canvas, 152 × 145 cm (60” x 57”)

Requiem, 2024
oil on canvas, 142 × 117 cm (56” × 46”)

Dedication, Solo exhibition at McBride Contemporary
2024

Tesselate, 2023
oil on canvas, 132 × 122 cm (52” × 48”)

Dedication, Solo exhibition at McBride Contemporary, 2024

Tracery, 2024
oil on linen, 112 × 117 cm (44” × 46”)

Blue Rain, 2024
Oil on canvas, 152 × 121 cm / 60” x 48”

Dedication, Solo exhibition at McBride Contemporary
2024

Arabesque Q, 2024
oil on canvas, 101 × 76 cm (40” × 30”)

Arabesque U, 2024
oil on canvas, 101 × 76 cm (40” × 30”)

Arabesque, 2024
oil on canvas, 101 × 76 cm (40” × 30”)

Double Strand, 2024
Oil on canvas, 76 × 76 cm

Shadowland Drawings

Video documenting my process, 8 min

Drawings from this series were developed during research residencies at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa, and the Redpath Museum, Montreal. These works represent the shadows cast by the skeletal remains of animals considered vulnerable, endangered or iconic. Mysterious shape-shifters, these ephemeral drawings connect with key environmental issues, such as habitat loss and the extinction of animal species. They propose a reflective space from which to consider the spiritual dimension of animals, our intertwined histories and future evolution. In these works animal archetypes seem to flicker and dance on the periphery of awareness, signalling the gradual disappearance of the wild.

Hippo Amphibias, AMNH # 70019
(Hippo pelvis), 2021
Graphite on acid-free paper, 114 x 183 cm

Ovis canadensis CMNMA 55062
(Prong horned sheep skull), 2024
Graphite on acid-free paper, 112 x 163.2 cm

Delpinapterus leucas, CMNMA # 46732, 2024
(Beluga skull) Graphite on acid-free paper
122 x 153 cm

Monodon monoceros, AMNH # 63987
(Narwhal skull), 2022
Graphite on acid-free paper, 97.45 x 127 cm

Gorilla gorilla, RM 5021 (Gorilla leg), 2024
Graphite on paper, 102 x 117 cm / 40” x 46”

Ursus maritimus, AMHH #5031, 2021
Graphite on paper, 101.5 cm x 183 cm

Elephas maximus, AMNH # 39082
(Elephant leg), 2021
Graphite on paper, 229 cm x 114 cm

Equus ferus 2, PK Collection
(Wild horse skull), 2023
Graphite on acid-free paper, 111.76 x 76.2 cm

Caretta caretta RM 5254
(Loggerhead sea turtle skull), 2024
Graphite on acid-free paper, 76.2 x 56.8 cm

Grus americana, CMNMA # 5567
(Whooping Crane skull), 2023
Graphite on acid-free paper, 76.2 x 56.8

Cervus Canadensis, AMNH # 123051, 2019
Graphite on paper, 56 cm x 76 cm

Odobenus rosmarus, AMNH #79901, 2021
Graphite on paper, 114 cm x 152 cm

Odobenus rosmarus 2, AMNH #79901
(Walrus skull), 2022
Graphite on acid-free paper, 127 x 97.45 cm

2022, Hippopotamus amphibias, AMNH #176118
Graphite on acid-free paper, 114.3 cm x 113.7 cm

Bison bison AMNH 10206
(Bison vertebrae), 2023
Graphite on acid-free paper, 101.6 x 82.55 cm

Ursus maritimus, AMNH #14057, 2019
Graphite on paper, 101.5 cm x 75 cm

Pteropus edulis, AMNH #44280, 2018
Graphite on paper, 76 x 56 cm

Ursus maritimus, AMNH #14057, (Detail) 2019
Graphite on paper, 101.5 cm x 75 cm

Eubalaena glacialis, AMNH #42752, 2018
Graphite on paper, 120.6 cm x 158.7 cm

Monodon monoceros, AMNH # 63987, 2021
Graphite on paper, 96.5 cm x 112.5 cm

Ursus maritimus, AMNH #14057, 2018
Graphite on paper, 112 x 76 cm

Elaphurus Davidianus, AMNH # 189208, 2021
Graphite on paper, 224 x 102 cm

Equus ferus, 2021
Graphite on paper, 112 cm x 99 cm

Eubaleana glacialis, AMNH # 42752, 2019
(Right whale vertebra)
Conté on black paper, 127 cm x 98 cm

Elephas maximus, AMNH #39082, 2019
conté on black paper, 53 cm x 56 cm

Panthera tigris 1, AMNH #135846, 2019
Graphite on paper, 69 cm x 61 cm

Panthera tigris, AMNH #135846, 2019
Graphite on paper, 69 cm x 61 cm

Elephas maximus, AMNH #39082, 2019
Graphite on paper, 53 cm x 76 cm

Antilocapra Americana, 2020
Graphite on paper, 76 cm x 56 cm

Panthera tigris, AMNH # 135846, 2020
Graphite on paper, 76 cm x 59 cm

Panthera tigris, 2020
Graphite on paper, 76 cm x 57cm

Panthera tigris, AMNH #135846, 2021
Graphite on paper, 98.5 cm x 64 cm

Cervus Canadensis nelsoni 2, AMNH# 123050
2021, Graphite on paper, 76 cm x 57 cm

Cervus Canadensis nelsoni 1, AMNH# 123050
2021, Graphite on paper, 76 cm x 57 cm

Canis Lupus Alberta, AMNH 98230, 2019
Graphite on paper, 44.5 cm x 27.3 cm

Bison bison AMNH # 3758, 2019-21
Graphite on paper, 127 cm x 96.5

Balaenoptera acutorostrata, AMNH 181411, 2019
Graphite on paper, 96.5 x 127 cm

Ursus maritimus. AMNH #22885, 2018
White conté on black paper, 76 x 56 cm

Ursus maritimus. AMNH #22885, (Detail) 2018
White conté on black paper, 76 x 56 cm

Hypsignatus monstrosus, AMNH #48653, 2018
Graphite on paper, 56 cm x 76 cm

Canis Lupus, AMNH #98231, 2018
White conté on black paper, 61 x 51 cm

Lepus arcticus , AMNH #42061, 2018
White conté on black paper, 112 x 76 cm

Phasianus colchicus , 2018
Graphite on paper, 124.5 x 218.5 cm

Phasianus colchicus , Detail
(Taxidermy, Version 2), 2018
graphite on paper, 124.5 x 218.5 cm

Exhibition Views

Exhibition views from the following exhibitions:

Gathering, 2025-2026
Solo exhibition
Research Institute of the CUSM, Montreal

Dedication, 2024
Solo exhibition
Galerie McBride, Montréal

Gathering, 2025-2026
Solo exhibition
Research Institute of the CUSM, Montreal

Dedication, 2024
Solo exhibition, Galerie McBride, Montréal

Shadowland in Exhibition

Shadowland at the Redpath
2023-2024, Solo exhibition in situ
Redpath Museum of Natural History, Montreal

Eidolons,
2022, Solo exhibition
Galerie Oboro, Montréal

Shadowland
2021 - 2022, Solo exhibition
Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa

Shadowland at the Redpath, Redpath Museum
Montreal, 2023-2024

Eidolons, Oboro, Montreal, 2022

Shadowland, CMN, Ottawa, 2021 - 2022

Shadowland, CMN, Ottawa, 2021 - 2022

Shadowland, CMN, Ottawa, 2021 - 2022

Collages

My collage practice is ongoing. Found images are juxtaposed with my own photographic references and further altered by passages of painting and drawing. These collages collapse boundaries, layering perceptions of space and form to create a discrete visual poetics.

2020, book page, inkjet print, gouache

2020, bookpage, injet print, gouache

2020, book page, inkjet print, gouache

2020, book page, gouache

2020, book page, inkjet print, gouache

Remix, 2017
Injet prints, magazine cut-outs, 25.4 x 20.3 cm

Remix, 2017
Injet print, acrylic paint, 25.4 x 20.3 cm

Remix, 2017
Injet print, magazine cut-outs, acrylic paint, 25.4 x 20.3 cm

Remix, 2017
Injet prints, magazine cut-outs, acrylic paint, 25.4 x 20.3 cm

Remix, 2017
Injet prints, acrylic paint, 25.4 x 20.3 cm

Remix, 2017
Injet print, magazine cut-outs, acrylic paint, 25.4 x 20.3 cm

Paintings 2020-2023

Remix, 2020-24
Oil and textile on board, (Diptych) 35.5 × 56 cm

Black Flag, 2020
Oil on board, (Diptych) 40 × 60 cm

Remix 2, 2020-24,
Oil and textile on board, (Diptych) 35.5 × 56 cm

Afterimage, 2020
Oil on board, (Diptych) 35.5 x 56 cm

Fragments For a History of Collecting,
2020 Oil on board, (Diptych) 35.5 x 56 cm

Wasteland, 2020
Oil on board, (Diptych) 35.5 x 56 cm

Bone House, 2020
Oil on board, (Diptych) 35.5 x 56 cm

Reliquary, 2020
Oil on board, (Diptych) 35.5 x 56 cm

Unnatural Order, 2020
Oil on board, (Diptych) 51 x 81 cm

Tomb, 2020
Oil on board, (Diptych) 35.5 x 56 cm

Detail, Tomb, 2020
Oil on board, 35.5 x 56 cm

Specimen, 2020
Oil on board, (Diptych) 51 x 81 cm

Double Negative, 2020
Oil on board, 61 cm x 76 cm

Techniques of the Observer, 2020
Oil on board, 35.5 x 56 cm

Paintings 2016-2018

Many of these paintings were shown in a solo exhibition, Little Deceptions, at Galerie Occurrence in 2017. These works consider the Disneyfication of reality portrayed by the ephemeral objects of our affections, plush animals. Exploring materiality, attraction, physicality and art historical tropes, these paintings evoke the packaging of nature and the commodification of our imaginations, becoming portraits of our culture and of ourselves.

Portrait Box 12, 2017
Oil on paper mounted on board
35.5 x 28 cm

Portrait Box 5, 2016
Oil on paper mounted on board
35.5 x 35.5 cm

Portrait Box 21, 2018
Oil on paper mounted on board
35.5 x 35.5 cm

Portrait Box 3, 2016
Oil on paper mounted on board
35.5 x 28 cm

Portrait Box 10, 2016
Oil on paper mounted on board
35.5 x 28 cm

Portrait Box 11, 2017
Oil on paper mounted on board
35.5 x 28 cm

Little Deceptions, 2017
Installation view, Galerie Occurrence

Portrait Box 17, 2017
Oil on board, 35.5 x 28 cm

Portrait Box 7, 2016
Oil on paper mounted on board
35.5 x 28 cm

Portrait Box 6, 2016
Oil on paper mounted on board
35.5 x 35.5 cm

Little Deceptions, 2017
Installation view, Galerie Occurrence, Montréal

Portrait Box 1, 2016
Oil on paper mounted on board
35.5 x 28 cm

Little Deceptions, 2017
Installation view, Galerie Occurrence

Little Deceptions, 2017
Installation View, Galerie Occurrence

Portrait Box 8, 2016
Oil on paper mounted on board
35.5 x 28 cm

Little Deceptions, 2017
Installation view, Galerie Occurrence

Portrait Box 13, 2017
Oil on paper mounted on board
35.5 x 35.5 cm

Portrait Box 14, 2017
Oil on paper mounted on board
35.5 x 28 cm

Portrait Box 23, 2018
Oil on paper mounted on board
50.8 x 40.6 cm

Little Deceptions, 2017
Installation view, Galerie Occurrence

Primary Plush, 2017
Oil on canvas, 175 x 142 cm

Le Jeu, 2016
Oil on canvas, 175 x 142 cm

Little Deceptions, 2017
Installation view, Galerie Occurrence

Messenger 1 & 2, 2017
Installation view, Galerie Occurrence

Messenger 1, 2016
Oil on canvas, 76 x 76 cm.

Messenger 2, 2016
Oil on canvas, 76 x 91.4 cm.

Little Deceptions, 2017
Installation view, Galerie Occurrence

Sculpture

Toy animals and dollar store figurines provide the raw material for these sculptural forms. Fused together they morph into strange atavistic hybrid beings. Past and future conceptions of animals inspired these works. Some, suggest the anomalies and abnormalities that could result from exposure to toxins in the environment. Others, suspend animals in a cosmos reminiscent of astrological sky maps. These assemblages are inventions, or re-inventions, sparked by an imaginative process of transformation.

Rabbiting, 2016
Broken plaster lawn ornaments, glue, paint

Rabbiting, (two views), 2016
Broken plaster ornaments, paint

Twinning, 2015
Plush, faux fur, wire, polystyrene, paint, wood, 241 x 71 x 70 cm

Twinning (detail), 2015

Strange Beast, 2015
Plush, plaster, batting

Nuclear Family (detail)

Nuclear Family, 2015
Plush, faux fur, wire, polystyrene, paint, wood, 162.5 x 43 x 23 cm

Nuclear Family
(detail of installation), St. Bruno

Little Bear, 2015
Plush, faux fur, wire, polystyrene, paint, wood, 195 x 56 x 56 cm

Little Bear (detail), 2015

Romp & Bear Bomb, 2014

Romp (detail), 2014
Plush, faux fur, wood, 162.5 x 43 x 23 cm

Bear Bomb (detail), 2014
Plush, faux fur, wood, 155 x 30.5 x 38.25 cm

Tumblewood, 2014
Plush, branches, paint, 89 x 86.5 x 84 cm

Familiars 2015

The title of this series, Familiars, references the spirit guides or animal companions described in folklore dating back to the Middle Ages. I re-imagine these magical guides as enigmatic forms composed of bound, contorted plush toy animals. These animal guides, our familiars, enter a menacing and dark realm, a surreal mindscape where associations swirl and tumble. As in Grimm's stories, these altered creatures evoke the shadow side - anxiety and menace lurk behind their playful façades.

Haunted By You, 2015
Oil on canvas, 183 x 229 cm

Ghost Riders, 2015
Oil on canvas, 152 x 145 cm.

Familiars, 2015
Galerie d'art d'Outremont, Montréal

Grimm, 2015
Oil on canvas, 152 x 145 cm

Nursery Rhymes, 2015
Oil on canvas, 152 x 147 cm

Hush, 2015
Oil on paper, 38 x 40.5 cm

Trance, 2015
Oil on paper, 38 x 35.5 cm

Constellation, 2015
Oil on paper, 38 x 33 cm

Tale Bearers, 2015
Oil on paper, 38 x 40.5 cm

Jumble, 2015
Oil on paper, 38 x 36.8 cm

Strange Companions, 2015
Oil on paper, 38 x 36.8 cm

Gulliver II, 2015
Oil on paper, 38 x 40.5 cm

Familiars, 2015
Galerie d'art d'Outremont, Montréal

Paintings 2010–2015

These paintings on paper, board and canvas explore strange conceptions of animals. Evoking our complex relationship to animals and the natural world, these paintings reference popular culture and mythology. Here, plush toys are twisted and tied together to become strange, haunted hybrids. I am interested in the physicality of their highly saturated colours and the psychological and visual tensions generated by their hybrid forms.
The exhibition, Haunted by You, was shown in the Flowers Gallery in 2014.
Haunted By You catalogue

Big Head 3, 2011
Oil on canvas, 153 x 122 cm

Haunted By You, 2014
Flowers Gallery, Montreal

Big Head II, 2011
Oil on canvas, 152 x 122 cm

Haunted By You, 2014
Flowers Gallery, Montréal

Subliminal, 2014
Oil on canvas, 170 x 213.5 cm

Haunted By You, 2014
Flowers Gallery, Montréal

Double Bind, 2014
Oil on canvas, 147.5 x 152.5 cm

Nyctophobia, 2014
Oil on paper, 38.5 x 38.5 cm

Sea Serpent, 2014
Oil on paper, 38.25 x 41 cm

Haunted By You, 2014
Flowers Gallery, Montréal

Bunny Nova 6, 2010
Oil on paper, 38 x 28 cm.

Bunny Nova 4, 2010
Oil on paper, 38 x 28 cm.

Bunny Nova 3, 2010
Oil on paper, 38 x 28 cm.

Bunny Nova 5, 2010
Oil on paper, 38 x 28 cm.

Plushies 1, 2010
Oil on paper, 38 x 28 cm

Plushies (grid detail)

Big Big Head, 2010
Oil on canvas, 175 x 142 cm

Residency, 2010
Warren G. Flowers Gallery, Montréal

Recombinant 1 & 2, 2011
Oil on board

Recombinant 1.2, 2011
Oil on board, 24.5 x 19.5 cm.

Recombinant 2.2, 2011
Oil on board, 24.5 x 19.5 cm

Recombinant 1, 2011
Oil on paper, 38 x 38 cm

Recombinant 1, Detail

Still Life 4, 2011
Oil on paper, 38 x 38 cm

Recombinant 2, 2011
Oil on paper, 38 x 38 cm

Still Life 3, 2011
Oil on paper, 38 x 28 cm

Toys + Age = Art, 2013
Installation view, dc3 art projects

Toys + Age = Art, 2013
Installation view, dc3 art projects,

Animal, Group Exhibition
St. Bruno, 2015

Animal, Installation
St. Bruno, 2015

Terrible Fish I, 2014
Oil on paper, 38.25 x 38.25 cm

Dark Turning, 2014
Oil on paper, 38.25 x 38.25 cm

Spectral 2010

This solo exhibition at the Anna Leonowens Gallery comprised 22 oil paintings on paper installed in order of the visible spectrum of light. These small, square paintings focus on details and explore the sensual possibilities of paint and light. Like specters they generate ideas connected to identity, transformation and the uncanny. Along with this painting installation I launched my artists' book "The Interview", that features a fictive interview with Michael Jackson after his memorial.

Spectral no. 5, 2010
Oil on paper, 15.25 x 15.25 cm.

Spectral no. 15, 2010
Oil on paper, 15.25 x 15.25 cm.

Spectral no. 19, 2010
Oil on paper, 15.25 x 15.25 cm.

Spectral, 2010, Installation view
Anna Leonowens Gallery, Halifax, NS

Spectral no. 1, 2010
Oil on paper, 15.25 x 15.25 cm.

Spectral no. 2, 2010
Oil on paper, 15.25 x 15.25 cm.

Spectral no. 18, 2010
Oil on paper, 15.25 x 15.25 cm.

Spectral no. 13, 2010
Oil on paper, 15.25 x 15.25 cm.

Spectral no. 14, 2010
Oil on paper, 15.25 x 15.25 cm.

Spectral no. 6, 2010
Oil on paper, 15.25 x 15.25 cm.

Spectral no. 11, 2010
Oil on paper, 15.25 x 15.25 cm.

Spectral no. 12, 2010
Oil on paper, 15.25 x 15.25 cm.

Spectral no. 10, 2010
Oil on paper, 15.25 x 15.25 cm.

Spectral, installation detail
Anna Leonowens Gallery, 2010

Spectral no. 17, 2010
Oil on paper, 15.25 x 15.25 cm.

Spectral no. 21, 2010
Oil on paper, 15.25 x 15.25 cm.

Spectral, 2010, Installation view
Anna Leonowens Gallery, Halifax, NS

The Interview, 2010
Artist Book

The Interview, 2010

The Interview, 2010
Artist Book

Spectral, Grid Installation, 2013
dc3 projects, Edmonton, AB

2008–2009

Paintings in The Looking Room feature people dressed in masks and costumes. These subjects allow me to engage with the interconnected themes of identity, ‘human nature’ and our relationship to the natural world.

Lacey in a Cat Suit, 2008, oil on canvas, 122 x 152 cm

Bunny Couple, 2008, oil on paper, 28 x 14 cm

Dog and Cat Couple, 2008, oil on paper, 28 x 14 cm

Bunny, 2008, oil on paper, 25 x 16 cm

Dearie, 2008, oil on paper, 28 x 14 cm

C is for Cat, 2009, oil on canvas, 152 x 147 cm

Self Portrait in a Black Wig, 2009, oil on canvas, 91.5 x 122 cm

Chicken, 2008, oil on canvas, 203 x 102 cm

Scary Panda, 2008, oil on paper, 16.5 x 13 cm

The Looking Room, 2009, oil on canvas, 175 x 142 cm

Self Portrait as a Clown, 2009, oil on canvas, 51 x 61 cm

2002–2008

Inspired by the spectacular beauty of covert photography these paintings explore the gulf between direct and technologically aided vision. This series is based on surveillance, infrared and motion detector photographs.

Deer 3 (Flashed), 2008
Oil on paper, 21.5 x 24 cm

Deer (Private Encounter), 2007
Oil on canvas, 168 x 107 cm.

Number Nine, 2007
Oil on canvas, 122 x 152 cm.

Frieze, Akau Gallery, Toronto

Spectacle, 2007
Oil on canvas, 168 x 175 cm.

Reversal, 2004, oil on canvas

Thief - Reflect, 2004, oil on canvas, 40” x 40”

Disappeared, 2004, oil on canvas

Trespass 1, 2004, oil on canvas

Twist, 2004, oil on canvas

Tricky, 2004, oil on canvas

Smoke, 2004, oil on canvas, 28” diameter

Vertigo, 2004, oil on canvas

La Foule, 2002, Galerie Expression, Ste Hyacinthe, Québec

Ashes, 2002, oil on canvas

La Foule, 2002, Galerie Expression, Ste Hyacinthe, Québec

Memento 1 & 2, 2003, oil on canvas

2004-2007

This series titled Fugitive is based on mug-shots of women wanted for fraud. Other than this tantalizing clue no further information is offered. The viewer is left to make assumptions based on appearances, and this of course is tricky, as women do not easily fit archetypes of the outlaw.