This shoot was a lot of fun. I really like the idea of a group of friends getting off work around the same time while living in the same neighbourhood.
The more I work on this project, the more surreal it feels to have such simple visual notions feel so important to capture. Ultimately, this shoot is eight or ten guys walking around the West End. That’s the entire shoot until you factor in that we’re all Black. That complicating factor makes the short walk we took--and the photos that followed--an act of protest through aesthetics.
What other reason could there be for this Hungarian woman desperately trying to push her way into the photos then insisting we acknowledge how “not white” she is?
What else could explain the man on his balcony screaming “welcome to Canada” to a group of mostly citizens?
Why else would the Black cab driver we tried to wave through pause in the middle of the road because he wanted to see the photos?
I really like these photos. Something about this set resonates with me a little more than others I’ve done. I love shooting groups. The presence is so difficult to get any other way.
Comments