There are many words you could use to describe the work of these 17 artists, portraitists and fashion photographers. But they all have one thing in common: Quebec. Whether they re from Tunisia or Iran, the Laurentians or Mont r gie, whether they re being discovered or rediscovered, they ve developed their singular creativity and aesthetic vision in Quebec, before exporting their work and establishing them-selves as essential players on today s international scene. For some, Quebec s photography schools and then its fashion and publishing microcosm have been a springboard to major capitals like New York, London, Paris, Los Angeles and Tokyo, and from there their images have made their way into the most prestigious magazines.Through their respective lenses, these photographers have capture moments in our history and popular culture over the last three decades. Their gaze has focused not only on prominent figures, from Leonard Cohen, C line Dion and Lady Gaga, to Oscar-winning stars and the Dalai Lama, but also on anonymous models. They have captured intimate images that embody a humanist sensibility, revealing frag-ments of our society, our identity and our shared values through poetic and thematic approaches. In an age when images are moving from glossy paper to our screens, this exhibition takes us on a photo-graphic journey across landscapes, fleeting moments and portraits of icons and celebrities who have forged our cultural landscape, through images that are at times surreal or even hyper-realistic. They also reveal a broadening of the field of representation, with a greater diversity of models. Displayed outside their editorial or commercial context, the prints gathered in the exhibition and in this book ? the first devoted to this subject ? illustrate the decompartmentalization between art and fashion photography, between personal and commissioned work, which these Quebec photographers operate with boldness, ease, imagination and talent.
A publication, the first on the subject, will accompany the exhibition Beyond Borders: Fashion and Portraits Through the Lens of Quebec Photographers, curated by Thierry-Maxime Loriot and organized by the McCord Stewart Museum in Montreal, on view from May 31 to September 29, 2024.
