Artist Bio
Born in Scotland, and childhood in Guyana on the edge of the jungle, I planted my feet at the foot of the green goddess.
I performed with magician Doug Henning as Maya, the Goddess of Magic in ‘Spellbound’ at the Royal Alexandra Theatre. I was part of two women's magic acts that toured with the Canadian Armed Forces to Europe and the Middle East. I have been attacked and held in the jaws of a lion. This experience has given me a new perspective and great respect for Mother Nature and the life force. (mayafair.ca ‘One Bone’).
Self-portraits became a tool within which I could view and integrate the sorrows and challenges of my life which included the struggle and commitment to my seriously physically disabled brother, my corporate-sponsored health injuries, my great concern for the health of our planet, my experiences as a performer, researcher and teacher as well as the suffering I see in the world around me. These explorations represented a great desire to dive through the layers of the human psyche from masque to molten core.
I began by photographing my disabled brother as a young child. I used my camera to show the world his spirit and his humanity when most of the world saw only his disability.
I strive to show how wrong is violent conflict. As a drama and movement artist, I have researched and presented hundreds of workshops with an anti-war theme. I feel a direct and poignant line to the experience and horror of WW1 through my childhood relationship to my grandfather who suffered through many of that war’s most horrific battles. Since WW1 there has been an unrelenting increase in the death and maiming of civilians in war. There is an undisputed correlation between militarism and environmental degradation.