Geoffrey James
in Chandler
EXHIBITION
Canadian Photographs
Geoffrey James, Montreal, Québec | Instagram profile
Canadian Photographs is the result of a ten-year project photographing daily life in Canada.
In this unvarnished look at Canada, the photographer explores the in-between spaces and forgotten places that are resistant to the idea of a coherent national identity. With an impartial eye, James documents both the ephemeral and the monumental: a demolition race in Quebec, the decoration of his cell by an inmate at Kingston Penitentiary, the Dickensian side door of Massey Hall in Toronto.
The filmmaker Atom Egoyan has described it as a “monumentally intimate collection” that “journeys into the diverse soul of the nation. Moments of wit and affection contrast with an austere and formal observation of the human desire to settle, celebrate and survive. A joyous and inspired book full of moments that are oddly resonant and deeply moving.” Geoffrey James has been photographing for more than 40 years, has exhibited in major museums internationally and is the author or subject of more than a dozen books and monographs.
EXHIBITION AT RENCONTRES
Canadian Photographs
Geoffrey James was born in Wales in 1942, studied modern history at Oxford and arrived in Canada in 1966. After working as a writer and editor with Time magazine and Head of Visual Arts at the Canada Council, he devoted himself to photography in 1982. He has exhibited at Documenta IX in Kassel, Germany; the Museum of Modern Art in New York; and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, with solo shows at the National Gallery of Canada, the Museo di Roma, the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art and the Americas Society in New York.
Geoffrey James is the author or subject of more than a dozen works and monographs. He was the first photo laureate of Toronto, and now lives and works in Montreal.