Street Portraits Exhibition at Artscape Youngplace in Toronto, Canada.
The Spectra Gallery 44 Members Exhibition is held every year in the month of May. The 2019 exhibition was a group show that spanned 3 separate installations across two galleries: Artscape Youngplace and Gallery 1313 in Toronto. Many prominent Toronto photographers participated in the exhibition. This post describes the ‘Me’ series of street portraits I exhibited at Artscape Youngplace from May 20 to June 1.
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While travelling in India in early 2014 my photography began to focus on street portraits and, for the first time, on close-up head shots. I don’t recall this ever being a deliberate decision, experimental or otherwise, but the more I shot in the streets of Kolkata and Chennai and other cities in India, the more I became captivated by the faces and personalities of the people who posed for me.
Without realizing it at the time, these photographs were the seed of an idea for a long-term photography project that I would soon refer to as The Everyday of Life.
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— Portrait Selection for the Spectra Exhibition —
As I was considering my selections for this 2019 Spectra Photography Exhibition, I knew I wanted to display a collection of portraits. I kept revisiting the idea of these close-up shots and began pulling together a series of twelve or so of my favourites from south and eastern India. I mocked up the gallery wall in my studio with sample prints, and though I love every shot, I felt that the larger collection would possibly deter a viewer from engaging more closely with any single shot of any one individual.
Deciding on what to include in an exhibition is as much about what you want your viewer to experience as it is about wanting to show your best work.
I decided to print a 48” by 32” sample of one of my favourite shots from Chennai, India and hang it in the studio at eye level. For me, the impact was undeniable, and it was less the impact of the photograph, and more of the person. Everything about his personality and demeanour was right there in the look on his face.
When his co-workers left this small, canopy truck to participate in my photo shoot, this man stayed behind, waiting quietly by himself. He was happy to watch everyone enjoy the event but seemed more content to stay behind. When I finally came over to him to say hello and ask for a photo, he softly smiled his permission.
Me — Chennai, India, 2014
This and other portraits from this series are on display at The Everyday of Life project website.
Once I had all three selects printed and hanging in my studio, I felt reengaged with each of the three men in a way that I had not since I took the shots. By choosing to present these three simple portraits for the exhibition, I knew I was potentially making a common photographer’s mistake of being unable to distinguish her love for the subject matter from the quality of a photograph. But I realize now that this is a perpetual dilemma for more photographers than me.
— How Will the Viewer Experience the Photograph —
Deciding on what to include in an exhibition is as much about what you want your viewer to experience as it is about wanting to show your best work. For this show I wanted people to experience what I was feeling right now – how, if you look closely enough at anyone, anyone in the whole world, you can appreciate and value them as individuals even without knowing who they are or the life they live.
I chose to title each of the portraits ‘Me’ in hope that the viewers would feel a sense of intimacy with the person in each of the photographs.
In the end, this simple idea became the objective of this exhibition, and when the time came to title each of the pieces, I knew it was important to let the subjects speak for themselves. I chose to title each of the portraits ‘Me’ in hope that the viewers would feel a sense of intimacy with the person in each of the photographs, and maybe even have the opportunity to appreciate and value them as individuals even without knowing anything about who they are or the life they live.
This young man was sitting with several other men on the front steps of a row of shops. He was the youngest and wasn’t a part of the crowd or the conversation. I photographed everyone, individually and together, everyone except for this man. He asked not to be photographed, at least not until the very end. He curled himself up in his scarf, as if for protection, and looked deep into the lens, just like this.
Me — Kolkata, India, 2014
This and other portraits from this series are on display at The Everyday of Life project website.
Little did I know then that for the next six years I would be secretly plotting an escape out of my comfort zone and into the world around me.
It wasn’t at all obvious to me at the time, but in 2014 while travelling India and becoming immersed in street portrait photography, I was secretly trying to think of a way to do this all the time, to see the world and how people live, and to appreciate how different all our lives can be while also being the same. I understand now that this is when I began conceiving of a project that I would eventually call The Everyday of Life. Little did I know then that for the next six years I would be secretly plotting an escape out of my comfort zone and into the world around me.
The way this man has leaned into to his photograph says so much about him. I met him in a large field that had become a temporary wholesale market for the oranges now in season. He was gregarious and in charge of the scene around him. He’s a man you would want to work with, and a person you would want in your life.
Me — Kolkata, India, 2014
This and other portraits from this series are on display at The Everyday of Life project website.
— Engaging With the Subject as Much as the Photograph —
On the day of the opening of the Spectra Photography Exhibition I made it a point to watch people as they approached and view my collection of portraits. Most were initially overpowered by such over-sized prints of people’s faces and instinctively stepped back from the display. And then, step by step they approached each portrait one at a time, taking a closer look at each shot, each person. I won’t pretend to know what their experience was like, but I enjoyed watching them struggle as they stepped forward, and I would like to think that they allowed themselves to become engaged with each individual, maybe even wonder about the person they are and the lives they live.
I was honoured to exhibit my work along side other Gallery 44 members, all of whom are committed artists and exceptional photographers.
Artscape Youngplace was the perfect venue for this exhibition. The long, narrow gallery guided patrons from collection to collection, allowing for a sense of intimacy with each collection. In case you live in or intend to visit Toronto’s west end, in addition to being an art gallery, Artscape Youngplace is a community cultural hub that is also part ideas laboratory and part creativity workshop. The gallery prides itself in being devoted to artistic inspiration, learning, growth and expression.
— Gallery 44 Members —
I was honoured to exhibit my work along side other Gallery 44 members, all of whom are committed artists and exceptional photographers. On May 20 to June 1, 2019 at Artscape Youngplace I exhibited along side Atia Pokorny, Broma, Celina Virani, Christina Shivcharan, David Brandy, Elsie Nisonen, Gustavo Jabbaz, Janne Reuss, Jude Marion, Robert Caspary, and Sandy Middleton.
— Spectra Photography Exhibition —
Spectra is an exhibition by a dynamic group of members from Gallery 44 Centre for Contemporary Photography. Gallery 44 is committed to creating programs and exhibitions that reflect the continuously changing definition of photography by presenting a wide range of practices that engage timely and critical explorations of the medium. Spectra showcases the innovative work of twelve G44 members in conjunction with the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival.
— The Everyday of Life Photography Project —
This post has includes photography from The Everyday of Life photography project. I invite you to visit my project website and enjoy the photo series from Bangladesh and other locations. I also invite you to visit and follow my Instagram posts @theeverydayoflife.
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