Photo copyright Tony Fouhse
This past May, La Petite Mort Gallery exhibited the work of local photographer Tony Fouhse. Yesterday, the New York Times’ photography blog, Lens, caught on. In a feature slideshow and article, they highlight Mr. Fouhse’s stunning and controversial photographs of addicts on one Ottawa corner: Cumberland and Murray in the market, a few steps from the gallery where the photographs were first exhibited. Additional selections from the series — USER — can be viewed on his website here and here.
Born in Ottawa and still living here, Mr. Fouhse works primarily as a commercial and editorial photographer, but has pursued a number of non-commercial, artistic projects as well. He has been shooting the USER series periodically since 2007.
These are no surreptitious snapshots: the photographs are taken on medium- and large-format cameras with professional lighting and production assistance. All of Mr. Fouhse’s subjects consented to having their photographs taken and subsequently approved those images selected for public consumption. You can watch a video montage of the making of several of the photographs, including conversations with some of the subjects, here.
The photographs are striking, and strikingly controversial. Is this the aestheticization of suffering? The exploitation of a marginalized group to flatter the sensibilities of those more privileged?
Perhaps not. Mr. Fouhse appears to have developed genuine relationships with the denizens of Cumberland and Murray. In this author’s opinion, the photographs reveal a sincere respect for the subjects. In any event, what the photographs undoubtedly succeed in doing is to bring us face to face (quite literally) with fellow citizens whose existence many of us find it easy to forget.
Nice work! I got to get out to the art exhibits around town more often.