Michael Cook has been documenting Toronto's drain and sewage tunnels for almost a decade in an effort to raise "awareness about city sewage problems." His photography captures tunnels, rarely seen by the public eye, in a fascinating light, exposing their various constructions and materials.
Though his work is beautiful from an art perspective, he tells the Atlantic Cities that the awareness facet is his biggest concern.
"In the city, people are very interested in getting involved in things like this," Cook told the publication. "But they need to be able to understand and see those systems to make substantive change on this issue. One of the reasons that it's been so difficult to get traction around the issues of water in the city is that the infrastructure is completely invisible."
In an extensive Q&A, 30-year-old Cook goes on to say, "My position on all that is to be able to have an honest and public conversation about all those issues, we really need to be able to see sewers and know them as real places. Residents need to be able to think of them as components in the places that they live. And for that they need to be able to know them visually and spatially. So putting these photographs out there has always been an important part of my practice."
His work will be featured as part of Toronto's annual
Scotiabank CONTACT photography festival that runs May 1-31 at more than 175 venues throughout the GTA, including various subway stations. Cook's exhibit,
Under this Ground, will feature 45 images viewable along St. Patrick Station's subway platform.
Incidentally,
Yonge Street's photography editor Tanja Tiziana will also be featuring her work as part of the CONTACT festival in the exhibit called
Memory and Context, taking place at the MJG Gallery (555 Parliament St).
Read the full story
here.
Original Source: The Atlantic Cities