This image is one
of four conventional photographic prints 8 feet long and 4 feet high installed
in the reception areas of Metro Hall (the metropolitan Toronto government
offices) that are visible as you leave the elevator. The terms of the
commission suggested that artworks should be relevant to the building
and it's function, Five other artists were also commissioned to produce
photographic works as part of the public art installations in the new
building.
At the submission stages I decided to deal with areas administered by
Metro that were people oriented and visible to me on a day to day basis
when I visited Toronto. (I do not live there.) Because they are such an
important part of the fabric of day to day life, I chose to photograph
metro licensed "workplaces" that are particularly visible or evident to
nearly all citizens. ie: Taxi drivers, daycare workers, restaurants and
subway buskers. Each picture was made on location and the models are the
people who actually do the work that they are shown doing in a dramatized
form. The images make use of lighting and directorial techniques that
are not ordinarily used for "documentation" in the workplace. The pictures
borrow from the visual style of movie stills or corporate annual report
photography. |
