Published by Leonardo Calcagno
The Ottawa Art Gallery (OAG) presents CANADA CANADA: Photographs by Rip Hopkins in partnership with the French Embassy, and with the support of the British High Commission and Ottawa 2017, as part of the Ottawa Welcomes the World series. The exhibition highlights the work of Rip Hopkins, an internationally renowned photographer who was born in Sheffield, UK, studied in Paris, France, and is currently living and working in Belgium.
“The OAG is pleased to partner with the Embassy of France, the British High Commission, and Ottawa 2017 to present new work by internationally renowned contemporary photographer, Rip Hopkins. By placing himself within the photographs, Hopkins implicates himself and his audience into the sometimes intimate and sometimes spectacular vision of our nation’s capital.”
– Alexandra Badzak, Director and CEO, Ottawa Art Gallery
“France is honored, along with the United Kingdom, to mark 150 years of Canada with a collection of images by Rip Hopkins that pay tribute to a nation rich in its diversity and generous with its hospitality.”
– His Excellency Nicolas Chapuis, Ambassador of France to Canada
“Presented in the framework of Ottawa Welcomes the World, Canada Canada is a creative jewel and a splendid collaboration between the Embassy of France, the British High Commission, Ottawa 2017 and the Ottawa Art Gallery. What a pleasure to have been able to work with the super-talented and energetic Rip Hopkins. This exhibition will surely be a success in Ottawa and will provide great visibility in France and England for our capital.”
– Guy Laflamme, Executive Director, Ottawa 2017
Over the course of a year, Hopkins made multiple visits to Canada, connecting with and photographing a variety of people, groups and activities in the Ottawa-Gatineau area. This archive of work can be viewed as a photographic trajectory of Hopkins’ travels and the relationships he formed in an array of public sectors; from his participation in a yoga session on Parliament Hill, to restocking the shelves at a T & T Supermarket, and riding a horse with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Inspired by the documentary aesthetics of Walker Evans and Robert Frank, Hopkins has captured scenes of everyday life – while simultaneously inserting himself into each photograph and subverting the notion of objectivity. Sometimes easy to spot, while at other times a ‘Where’s Waldo’ challenge, his inclusion humorously reveals that each image has been staged. Often swapping clothing with or being redressed by his subjects, his photographic process is a way to navigate a new country, while the photographs produced are inherently reflexive and have more to say about the maker than the depicted subjects.
Ottawa Art Gallery, mailing address, 2 Daly Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 6E2, CANADA