Ottawa photographer Tony Fouhse holds one of the photos from his new exhibit.
Centretown-based photographer Tony Fouhse says his best pictures are taken of unfamiliar people in unfamiliar places but these days, he’s looking for inspiration closer to home.
He followed that philosophy in his latest series called “American States” that is now showing at The Exposure Gallery at 1255 Wellington St. until May 1. He’s also contributing to his ongoing project “User: Portraits of Crack Addicts” shot exclusively from the corner of Cumberland and Murray street in the Byward Market over a period of three years. That project has garnered international attention since its first exhibit in 2007.
“American States” is a testament to all the personal stories Fouhse documented through photography on his six United States trips to the U.S. over eight years. The pictures show subjects posed in everyday locations, in addition to aptly photographed urban landscapes.
“For me I think what makes his work exciting and attractive is that he exposing me to an experience of America that I would probably just let pass by,” says Sterling Lynch, director of Exposure Gallery.
Fouhse says he’s in love with the U.S.; he loves the way the American people talk and the way they unabashedly tell him their stories. He says listening to peoples’ stories is the most important aspect of his craft.
“User” is different exhibit for Fouhse from “American States” because Fouhse he does not normally does not shoot personal material for exhibitions in Ottawa, his hometown.
“Often people think they need to go far to achieve their best result, but because of his failing health, we discussed shooting at home,” says Guy Bérubé, owner and director of La Petite Mort Gallery on Cumberland Street.
Bérubé had the chance to watch Fouhse shoot the “User” series firsthand as his gallery is of how the “User” series came about.
Fouhse built relationships with the community of people on the corner of Cumberland and Murray street accidentally one day, after a series medical emergencies, including kidney failure, left Fouhse unable to travel to Morocco to take pictures for an upcoming exhibit, and left him to wander downtown Ottawa for subjects.
But Fouhse seems to determined to showcase his other work. “I am not just the guy who shoots crack addicts,” he says.
Lynch says he believes Fouhse approached the subjects of both the “User” series and “American States” as collaborators in an experience.
“American States” has garnered positive Ottawa press buzz but the “User” series remains Fouhse’s most talked about series to date.
“User” was exhibited by La Petite Mort gallery, at a gallery in Toronto, and been blogged about by the New York Times Lens Blog and a publication based in Japan, in addition to being heavily discussed in the greater blogosphere and used as part a Sociological discussion in the journal New Social Inquiry by Carleton University sociology professor Aaron Doyle.
Gallery visitors have been very moved by “American States” but the material is simply less controversial than “User,” and the Gallery’s exhibit has not been open that long says Lynch.