October 5, 2018
What was once lost is now found – and now shared. Lunenburg School of The Arts is proud to present Urbania Part 1, a solo photographic exhibition by fine arts street photographer Christopher Porter on October 5, 2018.
“Dozens of boxes of my old negatives were taken from me 20 years ago, but were found recently abandoned and decaying in a barn and returned to me,” says Christopher Porter. “I have spent the last two years going through thousands of images, archiving the best, and digitalizing the negatives, some of which have led to this series. An emotional process. It was almost as if I was discovering this lost world of myself.”
Christopher Porter has exhibited nationally and internationally for over 30 years. His work is held in private collections in Canada, USA, Germany, UK, and France. Porter’s singular images are known for both their breadth and intimacy. “I’m curious about how people fit themselves into the physical construct of a city, as well as to one another. I’m trying to understand my own relationship as a viewer to the world.”
Urbania Part I spans seven years of work taken during international travel as the lighting director for film greats, such as Jim Jarmusch, Lars von Trier, Wim Wenders, and cinematographer Robbie Müeller. Urban centres Casablanca, Havana, New York, Marrakech, Paris, and Istanbul are featured alongside the people of their city streets. “It’s the people I want you to see, life around the edges and its relation to a particular world. How we adapt and create. It’s not beauty I am after.”
The collection is black and white, shot on X-pan and 35mm, and presents 20 of the 60 images that comprise this body work and is the first of multiple collections recovered and currently being restored. The exhibit is especially profound for the artist as it holds work he never expected to see again. The collection’s debut takes place in his hometown of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Urbania Part 1 opens October 5 at the Lunenburg School of the Arts, located at 6 Prince Street in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada. Visitors are invited to join photographer Christopher Porter and view his work from 7-9 p.m., and to attend an artist talk and reception at 7:30 p.m. Urbania Part 1 is open to the public daily 10:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. until Saturday, October 13th, 2018.