Search Results

The white cube gallery: Hanging work on its walls may be the hope of many photographic artists, but crossing its threshold can be intimidating to others. Some galleries and museums look for novel ways to entice new visitors inside the cube, but the SPAO Photographic Arts Centre — in partnership with Ottawa’s Preston Street BIA — has done something much bolder: It has taken the work of more than 30 photo-based artists into the street.   “A Slippery Place” by Seamus Gallagher. SPAO: Photographic Arts Centre. The SPAO Photo Walk invites the public to use their smartphones to play a kind of treasure hunt moving throughout Ottawa’s Little Italy neighbourhood. In this case, each of the treasures is a large-scale reproduction of a photographic artwork installed for all to see on the side of a building. The year-round display of photographs was selected by a jury following a nationwide open call, representing diverse talents from across Canada. “Carousel Venetian” by Ralph Nevins. Hare & Hound Barbershop. Photo by Rob Little.  Every installation features a QR code linked to contextual information about the artist and their work, as well as a digital map that uses a smartphone’s geo location software to identify the location of the next stop on the hunt. One of the benefits of following this loop is that walkers can join it at any point. You might choose to begin at SPAO (now celebrating 20 years as a photographic hub in Ottawa), but you might just as easily encounter a piece of art by chance and start your discoveries there. The presence of the works on the street invites a social angle that is not always practical in a gallery setting — a group activity that doesn’t need to worry about noise or decorum, taking in stimulating art with the occasional break in a café or pub to continue the conversation. “American Bachelorette” and “Canadian Bachelorette” by Diana Thorneycroft. The Adelaide. Photo by Rob Little. At times, the photographs turn the tables on viewers and question  them . Ann Thomas, former chief curator at the National Gallery of Canada and one of the Photo Walk’s jurors, underlines that “public art can have the power to engage people in space and perspective and can return the gaze instantly.” As an example of art returning gaze, explorers on the walk may come across Diana Thorneycroft’s “American Bachelorette” and “Canadian Bachelorette” on the side of the Adelaide apartment building. The diptych — one photograph featuring a diorama of plastic figurines from American pop culture alongside a similar photo containing Canadian figures — does two things at once: It comments cheekily on the differences between the two countries … and it separates its audience. Americans and tourists from other countries will likely know all or most of the U.S. cultural references, but only a Canadian is likely to get the references in both photographs. The art calls out its own public. Ann also points out that the presence of art in public places cannot help but make us more aware of the pervasive use of art in urban advertising, particularly on billboards and murals. As a juror, then, the competition for visual attention was a key consideration in her selections: “To me, the graphic element was important. You’ve got to stretch the imagination. And then stretch the scale, too, because you’re competing with big buildings and a lot of distractions. Bigger is better.” The Photo Walk is not just removed from the white cube, but it’s also located away from downtown Ottawa. “It’s well chosen,” says Ann. “Not only because SPAO is located here, but because the location is diverse. There are commercial establishments, restaurants, bars, office towers, and homes. So, you’ve got a nice mix of people.” That mix brings participants back to the social dimension again. While some might choose to explore the loop by themselves, there’s a good chance that many will opt to go with a partner, a friend, or even a group. Less precious than a gallery can be and much less frenetic than social media scrolling, the SPAO Photo Walk is a low-key way to democratize access to excellent photographic art. Artists from left to right, Paul Wong, Olivia Johnston, Shellie Zhang, Kali Spitzer. O-Train Line 2.  Photo by Rob Little. While every Canadian city can point to pieces of public art, these have often been commissioned specifically to fit a political or commercial purpose. By contrast, the Photo Walk’s contemporary works point to the interests of the artists who made them and, by extension, to the state of photographic art itself. Next time you are in the capital, bring a pair of comfortable walking shoes and make some time to experience an innovative and lively presentation of contemporary photography. Find out more about the SPAO photo walk at: spao.ca/photo-walk

LIGHT IS THE BASIS FOR PHOTOGRAPHY. As photographers, our craft is about documenting it or manipulating it to shape a narrative. THIERRY Du BOIS • From the Edification of Light series OUR 70TH PRINT EDITION shares contemporary visual depictions of electromagnetic radiation and its unique qualities, opening our eyes to the power of light through a new lens. The LIGHT issue IN PRINT • Cover image by THIERRY Du BOIS • photo by Margaret Mulligan #MadeWithAffinity The artists in this issue work with light as the basis of their photography, taking their explorations to new levels. “In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary." — Aaron Rose Ann Piché crafts her images featuring light as her central subject; while Thierry du Bois creates abstract visions from the glow of urban architecture at night; and Vicki DaSilva uses light as a tool to create graffiti only visible with a camera. Ann Piché • fractured Vicki DaSilva • I am Malala • Light graffitti Meanwhile, Adam Swica, Rita Leistner and Don McKellar play with light to create visual narratives for viewers to question. “She Is Tangled In The Light" ©Rita Leistner and Don McKellar, courtesy of Stephen Bulger Gallery and FFOTO.com This issue features:        SCARBOROUGH MADE Community Spotlights By Sid Naidu RITA LEISTNER & DON MCKELLAR  Searching for light in dark times By Craig D’Arville THIERRY Du BOIS  Lit from within By Alan Bulley THE PHOTOGRAPHY OF ANN PICHÉ By Darren Pottie VICKI DA SILVA  Running with Light By Rita Godlevskis SOFT-FOCUS AND SERENDIPITY: PINHOLE PHOTOGRAPHY By Peppa Martin ADAM SWICA  Rendering Light By Corinna vanGerwen Minna Keene & Violet Keene Perinchief By Mina Markovic Chasing Light is Chasing Life By Rocio Graham This edition also features, our Books + Resource recommendations by Alan Bulley for further light-based photography explorations, and our PORTFOLIO featured artists: Henry VanderSpek Monica Rooney Amy Friend Grant Withers Nikki Baxendale Jennifer Gilbert Felicity Somerset Alan McCord Pablo Villegas A Canadian photo history highlight by the phsc.ca This feature originally appeared in THE LIGHT ISSUE is now SOLD OUT in print, but is available to read as a digital replica on Press Reader. Find our playlist of LIGHT inspiration tunes on SPOTIFY! Follow us on Patreon and Instagram , and sign up for our e-newsletter to keep up with all our adventures!

IN CONVERSATION WITH CRAIG D’ARVILLE “She Is Tangled In The Light" ©Rita Leistner andDon McKellar, courtesy of Stephen Bulger Gallery and FFOTO.com CAST YOUR MIND BACK TO 2020 and, if you dare, recollect how you spent your time during the lockdown days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some artists chose to focus on studio-based practices, while more rebellious types, such as Rita Leistner, went out into the world, masked and under the cover of darkness, with camera in hand. Renowned for her work in photojournalism and projects such as Forest for the Trees , Toronto-based photographer Rita Leistner, succumbed to the restlessness of lockdown along with her friend and collaborator, filmmaker Don McKellar. Together they created an astonishing series of photographs that are in turns playful, poignant, nearly feral, and experimental. The result is Infinite Distance - Nocturnal Pandemic Urban Dreams. Curious to know more, I invited Rita to talk about these collaborative compositions. “They Reach Across An Infinite Distance" ©Rita Leistner and Don McKellar, courtesy of Stephen Bulger Gallery and FFOTO.com CRAIG: What was the genesis of Infinite Distance - Nocturnal Pandemic Urban Dreams that brought you and Don McKellar, a film director, screenwriter, and actor, together? RITA: We’d been friends for decades and we were neighbours at the time. It began with me bemoaning my purposelessness as a portrait artist in a world under lockdown where I wasn’t allowed to go near anyone with my camera. I was paying close attention to the photography being made in the early days of the pandemic. There were a lot of haunting photographs of abandoned public spaces around the world. But Don knew I wasn’t interested in wandering the city alone and (wanting to get in on the adventure) he volunteered to be my photographic subject. I thought over his proposition and called him the next day: “Sure, let’s do it, but guess what Don? I’m going to give you a camera too!” “He And She Run Up The Hill" ©Rita Leistner and Don McKellar, courtesy of Stephen Bulger Gallery and FFOTO.com CRAIG: There are expressionistic, cinematic elements and a ritualistic playfulness happening in these compositions, all complemented by long exposures and an experimental use of light. How did the conceptual approach you and Don came up with come about? RITA: At first, we went out at night to encounter fewer people, because we were afraid of contracting COVID-19. Later, it was for artistic reasons too. We could create a surreal, edgier, more apocalyptic world where we were the only two people left. Darkness was a condition for our lighting with flash and long exposures and the mysterious dream-like effects we sought to create for our fantastical worlds — magical spaces, underworlds, and mythological allusions (Orpheus and Eurydice), etc. — and painterly qualities — especially those associated with German Romanticism (“After Friedrich”) and depictions of saints and martyrs ( “After Sebastianus Patron Saint Of Plagues” ). It was also more fun and rebellious to be out at night: our private defiance against the virus. We shot in black and white because I couldn’t bring myself to think in colour, which I associated with my photography in the “before times.” Incidentally, I have not shot in colour since, despite being a “colour photographer” for most of my career. Lately, I’ve been sketching portraits in charcoal. “He Floats As An Apparition Above The Fire" ©Rita Leistner and Don McKellar, courtesy of Stephen Bulger Gallery and FFOTO.com CRAIG: How did you settle on the sites where you chose to make these photos? RITA: We made a list of locations that were iconic Toronto, but also where green intersected with concrete, the way nature was encroaching on built-up urban spaces. Among them were the Bloor Street Viaduct, St. James’ Cemetery and Crematorium, the Don River (not by accident, the principal settings of Michael Ondaatje’s In the Skin of a Lion), the railway tracks on Dupont, Ontario Place, and Toronto Island, which we especially loved because we were able to incorporate fires and canoeing in the canals into our narratives. CRAIG: In these photos, the two of you sometimes seem like a couple of naughty kids. Was it intentional to convey a sense of urgency and adventure through these compositions? RITA: This project would never have happened if Don and I didn’t really like hanging out and having fun together. We were trapped in the city, but at night we experienced this extraordinary freedom and feeling of lawlessness in the empty spaces we explored. We were seizing the day! We did feel a real sense of urgency as artmakers too, because it was important to us to make something of this historic time. As time went on, we got naughtier and darker. We took to calling our alter egos “He” and “She,” and “They.” Theirs is a complicated relationship and, yeah, They were definitely up to no good. “She Floats In The Leaves” ©Rita Leistner and Don McKellar, courtesy of Stephen Bulger Gallery and FFOTO.com CRAIG: Is this the first time you’ve collaborated with another artist? Moving forward, how do you think collaborative work will influence your practice? RITA: This was a unique situation created by the circumstances of the pandemic. Co-directing often doesn’t work, but with Don and me, we both enjoyed directing and being directed by each other. I think the success of Infinite Distance would be hard to repeat. Don was a fantastically cooperative muse and artistic partner in a sparse, depressing time. But in general, I’m not really drawn to collaboration. The lines of creation become too blurred. CRAIG: What’s next for you? RITA: Recently, my dad fell and hit his head on the sidewalk. He spent a month in the hospital, and I was there almost every night as part of his care team. He’s doing better today, but has a long, uncertain road of recovery ahead. My father’s accident changed my priorities, and it’s hard to think beyond the moment. But trauma is a catalyst for art. We never could have imagined Infinite Distance outside the pandemic. Likely, what’s next for me will be related to what I’m experiencing now. “They Are Divided By A Glow On TheWater” ©Rita Leistner and DonMcKellar, courtesy of Stephen Bulger Gallery and FFOTO.com This feature originally appeared in THE LIGHT ISSUE . This edition is now SOLD OUT in print, but is available to read as a digital replica on Press Reader. Craig D’Arville is co-owner, along with Stephen Bulger, of FFOTO.com , an online platform that offers photo-based works by established artists, and is an incubator for emerging talent. Rita Leistner is represented by Stephen Bulger Gallery, with select works available via FFOTO.com . Don McKellar is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, and actor. Enjoyed this free read?!  Consider supporting us! JOIN US AS A PATRON   • SUBSCRIBE FOR PRINT DELIVERY   • READ our digital editions • Make a donation

As a photographer, I consider myself a light-worker. photo by Rocio Graham I work to find the balance between light and the absence of it. My camera is a tool to capture, control, and manipulate the quality of light I need to craft my images. Shutter speed, ISO, and aperture have the sole purpose of controlling light.   Light is electromagnetic radiation from the sun. Only a small portion of light can be seen with the naked eye. As a child, I loved staring up at the sun because I was mesmerized by having something so potent above our heads each day (now I have cornea scarring from that practice). As a little girl I often talked to the sun. I knew this source of light and warmth was something beyond my comprehension. My connection to the sun has not faded. I often imagine what it would be like to float up to the sky to get closer to this ultimate source of light. Photographers are light chasers. We are attracted to it like moths. We often discuss the “chasing of light.” We wake up at 3 a.m. just to photograph the first glimpses of light caressing a mountain. We sacrifice sleep, chasing night sky and aurora borealis images. We endure body pain for the opportunity to create images that show light in unique ways.    The most impressive photographic works are crafted with specific attention to the balance of light and darkness. It is the tension created with light that invites us to get closer to the subject and enter a space created by the photographer, an alchemy of light and matter.   Through photography we conjure life that manifests through light. We cannot talk about life without talking about light. They are interconnected. Light interacting with matter gave shape to the universe as we know it. Light and warmth from the Sun allowed life on Earth to emerge. Life-sustaining processes such as photosynthesis centre on the transmutation and impact of light.  As a photographer and practitioner of Buddhism and Curanderismo (a Mesoamerican spiritual practice), I additionally occupy myself with philosophical questions about the meaning of life. The theme of light is prominent in these teachings and philosophies.   We often hear idioms such as “seeking the light,” “enlightened,” and “made of light” juxtaposed with “a shot in the dark,” “dark ages,” “living in darkness,” and “dark clouds.” Often these sayings are a codification of ancestral human knowledge and wisdom transmitted in mundane expressions.   When we say things like “we are in a dark place” and “shot in the dark,” we are expressing a lack of clarity or vision, the unknown we face. “Seeing the light” or “being enlightened” refers to a state of consciousness, a state of knowing that allows us to see what there is, to understand truth; it is clarity embodied.   Perhaps for us as photographers, the attraction to working with light stems from a desire to chase life and meaning. I wonder if within the secret parts of photographers live philosophers that seek deeper explanations. Does what we photograph matter? Do we matter? What should matter?    I imagine many can relate to the experience of being stopped in your tracks while meandering in a forest and being overwhelmed by the beauty of sun beams peeking through tree branches. The ecstasy we feel when we observe light reflected on a river shimmering like dancing diamonds. Those are moments that incite us to capture them with our cameras. We distill those fleeting profound experiences and make them into documents. Perhaps we create images because we want to create meaning and share our human experiences in the most intimate way. Perhaps it is all in the pursuit of connection and assurance that we are not alone; that life matters, that we matter. Light is a conduit.   As photographers, when we chase light we chase life. Light is life. This feature originally appeared in THE LIGHT ISSUE . This edition is now SOLD OUT in print, but is available to read as a digital replica on Press Reader. Rocio Graham is a m ultidisciplinary #canadianartist🇨🇦 and the driving force behind @santa.rosa.arts.and.healing We also featured Rocio's work, Tendering to the Garden, HERE. Enjoyed this free read?!  Consider supporting us! JOIN US AS A PATRON   • SUBSCRIBE FOR PRINT DELIVERY   • READ our digital editions • Make a donation

Xavi Bou, “Ornithography #08” Seagulls cross the sky just after sunset. PHOTOGRAPHS CAPTURE A MOMENT IN TIME, an instant frozen in perpetuity. “Still life,” if you will. Movement is only ever implied. Take, for example, a blur indicating the path an object has travelled, like an indistinct figure crossing a room. Or a composition that directs your eye to follow a trajectory, like triangles converging on the horizon. In many cases, our lived experiences inform our perception of motion — when we see an image of the ocean, we can sense it undulating and crashing against rocks. However, there are two artists who go beyond typical methods of showing movement within photography — Xavi Bou and nicholas x bent. For them, movement is both the content and the method. Xavi Bou, “Ornithography #238” Starlings being attacked by a peregrine falcon. When in danger of an attack, starlings compress their flight formation as a defence mechanism. The Suspended Birds of Xavi Bou A large black cloud creeps in from the top right of Xavi Bou’s “Ornithography #238.” It appears as layers of graphite scribbles, but beneath the bulbous mass, a curious subtle wave ascends from left to right, resembling more measured mark making.  These are not pencil drawings at all, but photographs of birds in flight. Each line is composed from hundreds of stills of a single feathered flyer, following its trajectory through the air. The ominous cloud is the overlapping routes of a murmuration of starlings as they compress their group formation in defence from the peregrine falcon attacking from below, as shown in the wavy line. Using a 4K cinema camera, Xavi records birds in slow motion to make this and other images in his Ornithographies  series. Each frame of the video is a still shot, which the Spanish photographer layers digitally to create his compositions. “I’m not discovering new species,” he says, “I’m showing common species in a new way.” Xavi Bou, “Ornithography #151” Starlings murmuration. The bodies of the birds reflects the colour from the light. Xavi often doesn’t realize the colour of the print until the final output. In “Ornithography #151,” you get a similar graphite-like cloud of starlings, this one with the frenzied energy of a tornado. “Ornithography #08” is more calm, with four softly curving waves — akin to the falcon’s pathway — suspended against a soft blue-and-yellow sunset sky. In Ornithographies #194 and #243, the flight paths are more ribbon-like, floating among the clouds. Each frame captures the bird, frozen, suspended in the sky, and when multiples are compiled into a single image, there’s no blur. Each wing position is there, each point along the flight path plotted out. It’s not what we’re used to seeing in avian photography. “Why is wildlife always represented in the same way?” asks Xavi, referring to the vibrant, highly detailed and technical nature photography that’s more typical. “In the arts, it’s common to ask about how we represent society, people, gender — how we represent many things. But I haven’t seen another way to represent nature in photography.” His approach is highly technical and scientific, yet in stitching together multiple images into one, Xavi’s birds become lyrical and expressive. “It’s reality — I’m just changing the perception of time,” he says. It captures the unseen geometry of movement in nature. nicholas x bent, “3” from the MARGINALIA series. The Haunting Trees of nicolas x bent nicholas x bent, on the other hand, uses movement in nature to explore psychological and emotional turbulence. In his work, twisted branches and blurred leaves in black and white evoke chaos and fear. Your eyes struggle to bring into focus the trees and landscapes that he photographs, creating disorientation and discomfort. “These things are living, breathing entities,” says nicholas. “When you diffuse them in this fashion, they become something different. You feel like limbs are going to reach towards you.” These are the trees of nightmares. To achieve his emotive, charcoal-sketch–like photographs, nicholas relies on long exposures and in-camera movement (ICM). Keeping his subject within his viewfinder as he leaves the shutter open, he moves around it, sometimes on foot and sometimes in a car, on skis, or riding a snowmobile. “I’m able to hold the subject and deform the subject at the same time,” he says. “It gives that same emotional, visual connection that I had as a child looking at the old trees on the islands in Georgian Bay.” Growing up in Northern Ontario during an era of intense mining, nicholas is attuned to the loss of nature to industry, and it underlies much of his work. His Ex Cathedra  series addresses micro logging, for example, while his Marginalia  series tackles industrial farming. Yet for nicholas, these questions of land use parallel questions of humanity and how we treat each other. Marginalia’ s gnarled trees sit along the borders of industrial farm fields — small pieces of wild left on the sidelines to make way for profits. Just as the trees are pushed into ever-smaller areas to make way for homogenized landscapes, there is little room left for people’s individualism within current systems. “The more you marginalize anything, the more abstract they’ll become,” says nicholas. “Boundaries are being forced upon them.” The movement in nicholas’ photographs conveys anguish and loss. nicholas x bent, “6” from the MARGINALIA series. The Emotion of Movement Both Xavi and nicholas challenge traditional still photography by focusing on movement — but their visions couldn’t be more different. Technique is central to their work but doesn’t define it. Through movement, they introduce us to a new way to look at and understand our world. While the two artists manipulate time and space, Xavi seeks harmony in motion, and nicholas confronts its chaos. Together, their work reveals the power of photography to visualize time through motion, not as a frozen instant, but as a dynamic and deeply expressive force. This feature was produced with the support of The Cardinal Gallery, and premiered in 2025 in issue #75, The MOVEMENT edition. The Cardinal Gallery is a creative exhibition space with a focus on showing fine art photography as well as providing an inviting event venue for the arts community. thecardinalgallery.ca IG: @thecardinalgallery

Journeys to other worlds in Adam Makarenko’s Toronto workshop There is a box under the worktable in Adam Makarenko's Toronto studio. Like the rubbish bin of some unhinged god, it contains hundreds of planets, each about the size of a fist. This is Adam's sculptural library of imagined exoplanets. His works are modelled on real worlds that orbit stars light-years away. Each of his creations - rocky surfaces streaked with blue, gas giants with swirls of white and red - draws on the sparse data astronomers have collected, combined with the principles of planetary composition we have learned from our own solar system. When these exoplanets are photographed against a dark backdrop, or juxtaposed against an elaborate set seething with lava or coated in crystalline spires, the images look as though they were beamed from another part of the Milky Way. In reality, each exoplanet is made of plaster or Styrofoam that has been covered in glue or paint to add texture and colour. Adam's work shows us that advanced technology isn't always enough to bring humans to other worlds - exploring the galaxy requires imagination, too. In an essay for Atlas Obscura about the history of "space art," author George Pendle observes that, while photography usurped illustration in a number of scientific disciplines throughout the nineteenth century, outer space remained an area "too far away to be photographed yet too thrilling to be left undocumented." Art and science have a symbiotic relationship: art inspires new generations of researchers, while new discoveries inspire more artists. Take, for example, one of the first detailed artistic creations of these faraway worlds: the cover of The Conquest of Space (1949), illustrated by American painter Chesley Bonestell. The picture shows a rocket perched on a shadowy, mountainous moonscape. In the foreground, suited figures assemble a scientific instrument. The image helped popularize the idea of manned space travel - even rocket pioneer Wernher von Braun was a fan of Bonestell's work. At the time Bonestell was drawing these scenes, the idea of humans going to the stars was regarded with scepticism (NASA launched its second monkey into space that same year; it did not survive). Only 20 years later, the first astronauts touched down on our moon. There are simpler, and more realistic, ways to show distant objects than by creating intricate miniatures. Computers have become the standard method (the producers of 2014's Interstellar hired a physicist to help create the film's CGI black hole). And the James Webb Space Telescope - a more powerful successor to the Hubble - will launch in 2018, giving scientists the ability to directly examine hitherto unseen exoplanets. Adam believes that his sculptures, physical planets that can be moved and touched, provide something equally important. "There is something tangible about the miniature versus something that is made on the computer - not necessarily better, but different," he writes. "It makes these far-off places appear to be more real for me, because they are sculptural forms. Thee images are literally transporting the viewer to a physical place." adammakarenko.com This article originally appeared in The Walrus Magazine. It has been reproduced with permission. Find this story and more in our STUDIO MAGIC: BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE - ISSUE #54 (print copies have SOLD OUT - but you can access the edition as a digital replica on Press Reader)

Books and media to inspire your fashion focused photography THE POWER OF STYLE: HOW FASHION AND BEAUTY ARE BEING USED TO RECLAIM CULTURES By Christian Allaire  Dedicated to “all the kids who feel like they aren’t seen or heard,” The Power of Style takes seriously how what we wear speaks loudly about our cultures, politics, and economics. This is a kids book that adults need to read. Christian Allaire, a fashion writer for Vogue and an Ojibwe, understands the complex interplay of style, power, and self-expression in our daily lives. He gives young readers a wealth of well-illustrated examples of how diverse groups are using fashion to express themselves and to strengthen their communities.  Softcover, 2021, 96 pages  $15. + shipping  Annick Press  BLACK FUTURES, Edited by Kimberly Drew and Jenna Wortham  What does it mean to be Black and alive right now? That’s the question behind this rich diving board of a book that invites readers to get their feet wet in contemporary Black experience and then to jump into imagining — and creating — Black futures. The book does not claim to be comprehensive, but there is so much content here that the book’s signposts are welcome: a simple set of colour codes and thematic sections with names such as Black Lives Matter, Joy, Power, and Memory. A multilayered resource to consult, rather than read from start to finish.  Hardcover, 2020, 544 pages  $54 + shipping  GREY AREA, Written, directed, and produced by Keesha Chung Keesha Chung’s first short film is a glimpse into the life of an aspiring model in the fashion industry. Keesha aims to highlight the work and stories of creatives of colour. Her film premiered in 2021 and draws on the skills of an all-Toronto crew on both sides of the camera and showcases the city itself. 2020; 14 minutes For more information, including up-coming screenings, visit greyareamovie.com THE NEXT BLACK: A FILM ABOUT THE FUTURE OF CLOTHING, Directed by David Dworsky and Victor Kohler  Did you know that textile production is one of the most resource-intensive industries on the planet and that our consumption of textiles is exploding? Resisting the temptation to paint an end-of-the-world scenario, The Next Black highlights industry pioneers working at the intersections of fashion, digital technology, environmental concerns, and biological engineering. From Lady Gaga’s bubble-blowing harness, to a dress grown as bacteria in a vat of liquid, to biotech wearables for athletes, the clothes we wear are becoming more innovative, sustainable, and interactive.  2014; 46 minutes  Find it FREE on YouTube  AFTER PHOTOGRAPHY, By Fred Ritchin For many photographers, the choice between digital and analogue can break down to a question of aesthetics. Fred Ritchin, Dean Emeritus of the International Center of Photography, draws readers into a much deeper discussion of the challenges and opportunities of digital media and the way they affect how we perceive and engage with the world around us. A provocative book for those of us who want to reflect on the images we make and the images we consume. Hardcover, 2008, 160 pages $33 + shipping This story featured in our FASHION X FUTURE edition, a special curation by Djenabé! The print edition SOLD OUT - but you can check out the DIGITAL REPLICA - HERE. Enjoyed this free read?!  We need your support to continue producing great, original content for you to enjoy! Consider supporting us! JOIN US AS A PATRON   • SUBSCRIBE FOR PRINT DELIVERY   • READ our digital editions   • Make a donation

THIS PHOTOMONTAGE  is an early entry in Hannah Maynard’s Gems of British Columbia  series, which showcases the remarkable creativity and innovation the photographer is known for today. Hannah Maynard; “Eighteen Hundred Gems of British Columbia Greet You!” from Gems of British Columbia ; 1884; BC Archives, Royal BC Museum, Victoria. Hannah Hatherly Maynard (1834 – 1918) was one of the first professional female photographers in Canada, owning and operating a portrait studio in Victoria, British Columbia, for 50 years.  Hannah Hatherly was born in Cornwall, England, and emigrated to Canada with her husband, Richard Maynard (1832 – 1907), in 1853 at around 19 years of age. The pair lived in Bowmanville, Ontario (then Canada West), where it’s believed Hannah learned photography from R & H O’Hara Photographers. They moved to Victoria in 1862 where they would settle for life and where Hannah opened Mrs. R. Maynard’s Photographic Gallery. In addition to her standard studio portraiture, she became the official photographer for the Victoria police and worked for the government producing ethnographic portraits. Hannah retired in 1912 and died in 1918 at the age of 84.  Hannah became widely recognized for her annual Gems series with which she promoted her studio, releasing a photomontage each year from 1881 to 1895. The photomontages featured children that she had photographed that year and were sent out in the form of new year’s greeting cards to parents of the children. The Gems  series was inspired by the fashionable but brief trend in photography known as gems – very small tintypes able to be mounted to jewellery. To create her Gems series, Hannah meticulously cut out and mounted photographs of the children before rephotographing as a whole. The montages often took on the shapes of other objects, including potted plants, wreaths and, as seen here, a painter’s palette.  Hannah Maynard–expert Claire Weissman Wilks points out the theme of grief hidden in the compositions, with many of the Gems  featuring ghostly apparitions. For example, this 1884 Gems photomontage features two young girls on either side of the montage who appear otherworldly and statuesque. The child on the left is smiling and holding a bird, while the child on the right is crying, holding a dead bird. This is an early example of Hannah’s practice of what she called “living statuaries”: sitters she made to look like statues through the use of white powder and clever positioning. Grief is a common theme throughout Hannah’s work; a mother of five, she lost the first of two children the year prior to this particular composition.  Hannah’s experiments pushed the boundaries of storytelling through photography further technically and creatively than many of her contemporaries, and predecessors. Although many passionate female photography experts and advocates continue to promote Hannah’s work in contemporary art and education contexts, her superior work remains under-appreciated.  NOTES: The BC Archives at the Royal BC Museum in Victoria holds a large collection of Hannah’s photographs and supplied the image for this article. Sources for this article include Photography in Canada, 1839–1989  by Sarah Bassnett and Sarah Parsons, 2023; and The Magic Box: The Eccentric Genius of Hannah Maynard  by Claire Weissman Wilks, 1980. For more information on Hannah Maynard, look forward to Hannah Maynard: Life & Work , by Elizabeth Anne Cavaliere, to be released in 2026. As seen in the MELD issue. SOLD OUT in print - but available to read on Press Reader This feature was produced with the support of the Photographic Historical Society of Canada.  www.phsc.ca Did you enjoy this FREE read? Consider supporting us! We'd love your support to continue producing great content for you to enjoy!   • JOIN US AS A PATRON   • SUBSCRIBE FOR PRINT DELIVERY   Follow us on Patreon , Facebook , and Instagram , and sign up for our e-newsletter to keep up with all our adventures!

EVERYONE HAS A DIFFERENT RELATIONSHIP TO FOOD AND FOOD PRODUCTION. Image by Bob St Cyr This single frame by Bob St-Cyr opens volumes of questions we collectively should be asking. This image depicts a scene of an older man, bent over, picking fruit off the ground. In the background, a younger woman stands with her back to the man. She has what appears to be a phone in her hand, and she is taking a photo. The first thing that I saw was the man, immediately, it made me think about travel restrictions during the last few years, and migrant workers, unable to travel to Canada and pick our crops for us. There were many news stories on how entire crops were left to rot in the fields because no one was willing to pick them. Is this a statement on the work ethic of different generations? Another viewer may look at this scene and feel frustration with the woman with the phone. This is an all too familiar sight. People everywhere, walking around like zombies with phones in front of their faces, living life through phone screens and social media filters. Maybe she is an Internet influencer promoting her experience visiting an orchard or someone who has worked in this orchard and is making a video teaching people where apples come from. Are these two people related to each other or are they strangers? Is this scene real or staged? Are there other people just out of the frame or are these two alone? Who picked the full basket of apples in the foreground? How large is this farm? Where are these apples destined? Are they going to a local market or a supermarket on the other side of the world? Was this photo documenting apple-harvesting methods in a particular place in the world or is it a local vacation snapshot? It is very possible that the real story to this photograph has no special explanation and is a basic and banal scene. But does that really matter to us as viewers if we read into it? Why did the photographer choose to preserve and share this moment in time? What’s the message in the act of presenting images without context? Interpreting the meaning of an image is really just guessing. What makes one person feel passionately about any one piece of art, a song, a poem, or a photograph is personal and depends on individual life experiences and unique points of view. Photographs have the power to tell stories but, without context, interpretations will vary. What do you see in this image? What societal message can it press you to re-think for yourself? Like what you see here? Read more in the FOOD ISSUE As an independent editorial publication we'd love your support to continue producing great, original content! Enjoyed this free read?!  Consider supporting us! JOIN US AS A PATRON   • SUBSCRIBE FOR PRINT DELIVERY   • READ our digital editions   • Make a donation

A PLAYLIST By Martine Marie-Anne Chartrand It’s amazing what music can do! Like visual art it can change your mood in an instant. Both are very therapeutic. Creating a playlist is not such an easy task when you are a person that is like a mood ring. For instance, when I am writing course outlines and teaching collage classes to kids, I really enjoy playing instrumental music like Messer Chups, soundtrack to Hilda and Harmonium. It’s chill and laid back . When I am more invested in my storytelling through image making or my process exploration, I prefer music that reflects me being immersed in my art where I feel that there is no fine line between the two atmosphere’s of art and music. I like feeling teleported in my art by the music I listen to while creating. I appreciate stories in music, like Pink Floyd and mes aieux. Great storytellers. I like discovering and exploring new photo processes and the same goes for music. I am really enjoying an instagram discovery of Beach Head Yeg @beachheadyeg . This music is chill and connected at the same time. I would very much like to do a collaboration of photos and music with this musician. Hint, hint! In the end I am very eclectic, just like a mood ring and I like more haunting sounds like Anna Von Hausswolff and I occasionally like the soundtrack of ambient life… touskifaitoutmartine.ca @touskifaitoutmartine Enjoyed this free read?!  Consider supporting us! JOIN US AS A PATRON   • SUBSCRIBE FOR PRINT DELIVERY   • READ our digital editions   • Make a donation