Over at Allen Lambert Galleria in Brookfield Place, Alain Palement had a public installation titled, over here over there. The 12 murals installed on the floor bring an unusual and impossible perspective on various day to day rooms and locations. Spanning across the large galleria, hundreds of people walk across these pieces over the month of May.

It was interesting to see people’s reactions to the work, many walked by without skipping a beat, some skirted around the murals, making an effort not to step on them, and others viewed and interacted with the piece both viewing for different angles and actually looking at the work while they stood in the middle of it. The unique birds eye view to these everyday rooms definitely brought a different dynamic to the space and how one should view photography.
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This afternoon, I caught an Inside Out screening at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. As I was waiting in line, I found myself standing outside of the inaugural Contrast Canadian Photographic Works exhibit. Of course I had to go in and check it out. Inside I was greeted by Fabrice Strippoli who was one of the ten featured photographers and curator of the group show.

Strippoli explained to me how CCPW is a boutique photo agency that specializes in commercial projects and fine art photography. Unlike your regular gallery show, the work was staggered and grouped all over the bare concrete brick walls, in various sizes and framing. But even in this no frills fashion, the work was strong enough to pop off the walls and hold their own. CCPW features the work of Shawna Eberle, Alex Filotti, Mark Hesselink, Jean-François Bouchard, Justin Kingsley, Paul Labonté, Richard Marazzi, Martin Mraz, Nicolette Potter and Fabrice Strippoli.

With CONTACT coming to a close in a couple of days, it’s not to late to go down to the King street location to check out the work. The gallery will be open on Sunday from Noon to 8pm and on Tuesday from 11am to 7pm. While you are there, make sure you take a moment to check out their camera obscura which is setup to show you a view of the bustling King Street view in a away you have never seen before.

Contrast Canadian Photographic Works (CCPW)
May 1–31
356 King St W

For some, the Junction may seem off the beaten track, but the neighbourhood is full of amazing eateries, wonderful antique shops and even has a Starbucks now, so you know it’s one of those up and coming areas. This historic strip along Dundas Street West, just north of High Park, between Quebec Ave and Keele St. is the home of over 20 CONTACT exhibits this year. Every year the Junction BIA does a wonderful job of showcasing photography in a partnership with many of the local businesses in the area. What I find most impressive is that the BIA actually has these prominent red CONTACT signs outside of all the participating venues, making it super easy to find each exhibit.

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Earlier this month, I wandered to the east end of the city to check out some CONTACT shows. Among them was the Dieter Hessel show, Structure and Symmetry at Heliographics.

Upon initial view, you are presented with a wonderful series of architectural and landscape images from Toronto and Chicago. But what you don’t realize is that you are looking at HDR images, High Dynamic Range. HDR is a technique were you merge a number of differently exposed shots, to create a shot that has greater and equal luminance between the lighter and darker areas of an image.

Over the years, I’ve seen a lot of HDR photography, and usually I’m not a big fan, because often it is not done very well. When I first visited this exhibit, I wasn’t actually aware that the images were HDR, it wasn’t until a week later, when I had brunch with a couple of friend’s did I realize that the show was HDR, when they tipped me off to that fact. Hessel does an masterful job with merging his images, which results in a natural and pleasing look. If you are in the market for a shot of Toronto to hang in your home, I’d highly suggest checking out his work.

Hessel’s exhibit Structure and Symmetry is showing at Heliographics until May 31st. While you are in the east end of the city, may I also suggest checking out Vision & Voices at Brayham Contemporary Art. The exhibit which runs until June 5th is a group showcase of photographs from 11 women in the sex industry in Portland OR. It gives the viewer a personal glimpse into the lives of these interesting women.

Heliographics
Structure and Symmetry
May 1–31
1238 Queen St E Unit H
Toronto, M4L 1C3
Wed, Thu, Sat & Sun 12 – 5pm
Fri 12 – 7pm
(416) 466 2685

Brayham Contemporary Art
Vision and Voices
April 30–June 5
1318 Queen St E
Toronto, M4L 1C5
Fri 2 – 7pm
Sat & Sun 12 – 5pm
(647) 435 7367

NOTE: I’ve been corrected, none of the work in this exhibit were HDR