Artist Statement

I have been guided to photograph abstractions for a variety of personal reasons; I find it compelling and challenging to cull these subtle designs out of the surroundings.

Much of the drive to photograph withered and age-worn subjects probably comes from my childhood. We didn’t really have many new things growing up, most of our toys were hand-me-downs, homemade, or from the thrift store. I didn’t really know what that meant at the time, and had a great childhood full of imagination and close friends. What it taught me was to be resourceful, and to use what you can get your hands on to your fullest advantage. It also started a lifelong habit of “finding” materials rather than buying, and repurposing things to gain further use.

For me, “Relegated” is an extension of that resourcefulness: finding hidden beauty in odd places, getting a second use out of something forgotten, and re-interpreting information from a vast landscape cast-off spirits left behind on factory walls and rotting piers.

I believe that by closely examining these objects, physical and emotional connections can be perceived by the viewer that far surpasses the materials that they are made of. Magical and spiritual residue can exist in the spaces left between man and nature, and between the obvious and the barely perceptible

Website: www.dakinroy.com

New Brunswick Art Salon 2025 – Photography: “Beyond the Image: Unveiling Hidden Narratives”

Education

M.F.A. – Photography, Academy of Art University – San Francisco, CA

B.F.A. – Photography, Pratt Institute – Brooklyn, NY

Exhibitions

Selected solo and two persons:

2014

  • “Relegated”, BAU Gallery – Beacon, NY

2007

  • “Memento Mori”, Go North Gallery – Beacon, NY

2005

  • “Beauty Parade”, Zahra’s Studio – Beacon, NY

2004

  • “Landscapes and Landmarks”, Mart Gallery – Beacon, NY

2003

  • “Coney Island, Mermaid Parade”, Vanbrunt Gallery – Beacon, NY

Selected group:

2017

  • “FOCUS: Lay of the Land, Art Inspired by Nature”, Woodstock Artists Association – Woodstock, NY
  • “Open Juried Exhibition”, juried by Karen Haas from the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Center for Photography -Brattleboro, VT, 05301

2016

  • “Big Draw”, Catalyst Gallery – Beacon, NY

2015

  • “Memories, Stories, Histories with juror Amy Galpin”, The Center for Fine Art Photography Fort Collins, CO

2014

  • “Banner Project”, Public project to promote the arts – Beekman Street-Beacon, NY2013
  • “Windows on Main St.”, Mad Dooley Gallery-Beacon, NY

2012

  • “Windows on Main St.”, Mad Dooley Gallery-Beacon, NY
  • “Greatest Show in Beacon”, Mad Dooley Gallery-Beacon, NY
  • “Big Draw”, Mill Street Lofts Arts – Beacon, NY
  • “Fine Art”, Beacon Theatre – Beacon, NY

2011

  • “Windows on Main St.”, Beacon Cycles – Beacon, NY

2010

  • “Saunders Farm Project”, Outdoor sculpture exhibit, Collaborative Concepts-Garrison, NY
  • “Windows on Main St.”, Relic – Beacon, NY

2009

  • “400 years of the Hudson”, Dutchess County College, Poughkeepsie, NY
  • “Saunders Farm Project”, Outdoor sculpture exhibit, Collaborative Concepts – Garrison, NY

2008

  • “Banner Project”, Outdoor banner project to promote the arts-Beekman Street – Beacon, NY

2007

  • Open Studio Show, Spire Studios, Beacon, NY
  • “The Hat Box Exhibit”, Van Brunt Gallery, Beacon, NY
  • “Models on Main”, Vanbrunt Gallery, Beacon, NY
  • “The 4×6 Club”, Burlock-Beacon, NY

2006

  • “The Gift”, Vanbrunt Gallery — Beacon, NY
  • Faculty Exhibit, Dutchess County College – Poughkeepsie,
  • “100×100”, Go North Gallery – Beacon, NY
  • “Windows on Main St.”, Relic Window – Beacon, NY
  • “Saunders Farm Project”, Outdoor sculpture exhibit, Collaborative Concepts – Garrison, NY
  • “Unexpected Visitors”, Sculpture exhibit, Maxwell Fine Arts – Peekskill, NY

2005

  • “Hopeless Necromantic”, Zahra’s Studio – Beacon, NY
  • “Juicy”, Juicy – Beacon, NY
  • “The Sin Show”, Viscaya Lounge – NY, NY
  • “The Valentine Show”, Spire Studios – Beacon, NY

2004

  • “The Innocence of Ornaments”, Germaine Keller Gallery – Garrison, NY
  • “Bulldog and Friends”, Collaborative Concepts – Beacon, NY

2001

  • “Snapshot Exhibition”, Museum of Contemporary Art Baltimore, MD

Publications