The 2012 Scotiabank Contact Photography Festival has opened, bringing photographic arts to every corner of the city. The theme of this year’s event — the 16th and biggest so far — is “public,” and the organizers promise an exploration of urban centres and those who occupy them.
Over 1,000 artists from nearly 200 different countries are putting their works on display throughout the city, leaving fans hard-pressed to see everything. So, here are a few priority exhibits that are worth seeking out out.
Public: Collective Identity/Occupied Spaces
Tarek Abouamin, Ai Weiwei, Philippe Chancel
Three of the world’s most influential photographic artists come together in one exhibition to provide a trio of original takes on the “public” theme, ranging from profound to provocative to irreverent. French photographer Philippe Chancel brings his catalogue of extremely rare photos from North Korea, which he has accumulated by gaining access to the country four times since 2005. Meanwhile, Tarek Abouamin’s often-graphic glimpses into the Egyptian revolution highlight the price of democracy, and Ai Weiwei’s self-portraits of the contemporary Chinese artist giving the finger to global monuments provide some lighter viewing while still offering his own political slant.
Philippe Chancel
Tokyo Compression
Michael Wolf
Wolf focuses his lens on those within the urban centre as he presents a collection of head shots from cramped, uncomfortable transit riders on congested Tokyo subways. The smushed-against-the-glass faces have a comical quality to them, but also provide an evocative, vivid look at the less glamorous aspects of the urban living experience.
Album
Max Dean
The interactive component to the fest comes from local artist Max Dean, who, along with colleagues from the Art Gallery of Ontario, has compiled 600 photo albums over 15 years, all of which he will be handing out throughout Contact. Riding in his signature 1966 Volkswagen Beetle, Dean will be passing his work on to photography lovers across the city who can “give the albums new life.” “I’ve come to realize that these albums had a collective identity and belonged to something,” says Dean. “We hope that those who inherit the collections can be their new narrators and ascribe new meaning to the photographs.”
Afghanistan
Larry Towell, Donovan Wiley
Perhaps the most bold and emotional exhibit at the festival, “Afghanistan” is a joint effort between Canada’s Larry Towell and Britain’s Donovan Wiley in which they examine the considerable collateral damage felt within the war-torn region. The collaboration between the two men creates a stark juxtaposition, setting Towell’s intimately personal black-and-white portraits of affected Afghan people against Wiley’s eerie, large-scale photos of vacant military posts. Towell’s shot of a young girl missing her left arm is particularly chilling and vivid.
Larry Towell
Nothing Is Hidden
Lynne Cohen
Cohen’s photos of bare, public spaces offer a unique look at the same areas that are often taken for granted by those who venture through them on a regular basis. The images force a re-imagining of what appear to be ordinary spaces in order to understand and appreciate their majestic qualities which have been uncovered by the 2011 Photography Award winner and Montreal native’s lens.
Contact Photography Festival runs throughout May
