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Burtynsky’s unseen world / CELEBRITY Snagging a photo of Celine Dion / CAMPUS Staying home,
ENVIRONMENT
staying safe / PANDEMIC Alumni versus COVID-19 / Q&A Meet Donna Young, Dean of Law
FOR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS
The
Photography
Issue
How photographers
document our lives from
COVID-19 to the environment,
identity and more
SUMMER 2020
Change
your story.
Dominic Akena used to be a child soldier
in Uganda. Now he’s a documentary
filmmaker in Toronto.
ryerson.ca/graduate
Contents SUMMER 2020
On the cover and left:
Images of the city
under lockdown by
Arthur Mola (Image
Arts ’11). “What a gift it
is to preserve history
through photographs,”
Mola writes on
Instagram, a sentiment
illustrated by the
alumni photographers
featured in this special
edition on the power of
images. See page 14.
The Photography Issue
In a world of images, meet 12 photographers and experts in the field who turn a careful
lens to document our time and challenge us to understand a different perspective.
14 Edward Burtynsky illuminates unseen world | 19 Snagging a coveted photo of Celine Dion
20 Alia Youssef challenges stereotypes | 23 A forensic video analyst in the homicide unit | 24 Capturing the world during COVID-19
COVER AND CONTENTS PHOTOGRAPHY BY ARTHUR MOLA (IMAGE ARTS ’11)
26 Nobel Peace Prize exhibition gets inclusive | 30 Artist Michèle Pearson Clarke questions the status quo
32 Views from both sides of the camera 33 Revolutionizing lighting in the film industry
Gould Street 9 Q & A Alumni Diary 38 Class notes
Donna Young, Updates from alumni
3 President’s message Ryerson’s dean of law, 35 Alumni versus
on transforming legal COVID-19 44 Remember when?
5 Staying home education Messages from the The Kodak Canada
How Ryerson responded frontlines Heritage Collection
to the pandemic 10 The game-winning shot gained new life at
How Mark Blinch 36 Volunteer spotlight Ryerson
captured the famous E
very interaction
Raptors buzzer-beater makes a difference
Summer 2020 / Ryerson University Magazine 1
FOLLOW US @ryersonu @RyersonU @ryerson_u
Letter from the editor
and contributors
A PHOTOGRAPH OF a pub owner cap- issues of the world began long before the CONTRIBUTOR
tured from the other side of the win- pandemic was declared. Then, as winter CONNOR GAREL
dow; an eerily empty Bay Street during turned to spring, the all-encompassing Journalism ’19
rush hour; a traveller in the airport wearing outbreak led to a change of editorial direc- Writer, Oppositional Gaze (p. 30)
a mask; Italians singing on tion—not to abandon the A Toronto-based writer and
balconies—these are some photography theme, but editor, Connor focuses on
of the images of COVID-19, rather to capture this arts and culture. He has
a pandemic sweeping the unique moment in time a keen interest in fashion,
world this year. with images that ref lect contemporary art, film, and
Photography, the most the many human experi- music, and his work frequently
accessible and democratic ences it has produced. probes and interrogates their
medium of our time, docu- Included with the images relationship to identity
ments and explores the com- that document life under and the social world. He has
plexity of the past and the COVID-19 are the remark- previously worked at VICE,
present. We make, look at able works of photogra- ELLE Canada and HuffPost,
and study photographs to phers Edward Burtynsky and his writing has appeared
understand and connect to (Photographic Arts ’82), in Canadian Art, BuzzFeed
ourselves and to each other. Alia Youssef (Image Arts and FASHION Magazine.
Photography challenges us ’17) and Finbarr O’Reilly
to confront uncomfortable truths and ambi- (Journalism ’97), reminders of the endur-
guities, and to question simple certainties. ing power of still photographs to reveal
The planning for this issue of Ryerson new realities, stir our emotions and in
University Magazine about how Ryerson many cases spark social change. —Colleen
PHOTOGRAPH BY (MELLOR) CHRISTOPHER MANSON, DOCUMENTARY MEDIA ’11; (GAREL) MAXINE MCCARTHY
alumni photographers are documenting key Mellor, Journalism ’86
DID YOU You can download the online magazine at
KNOW... ryerson.ca/alumni/news/Ryerson-University-Magazine.
Volume 23, Issue 2, Summer 2020
Ryerson University Magazine is published twice a year for alumni and friends. Reproduction, republication or distribution of content and photographs
is strictly prohibited without prior written permission of the editor. Vice-President, University Advancement and Alumni Relations Ian Mishkel • Chief of Staff
& Executive Director, Communications Michael Forbes • Executive Editor Karen Benner • Editor Colleen Mellor • Associate Editor Antoinette Mercurio
• Staff Writers: Lindsey Craig, Michelle Grady, Jessica Leach and Brian Tran • Art Direction & Design Studio Wyse
CONTACT Ryerson University Magazine, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria St., Toronto, On, Canada M5B 2K3
Phone: 416-979-5000 ext. 5088 • Email: ryemag@ryerson.ca • Web: ryerson.ca/alumni/news/Ryerson-University-Magazine/
MEMBER Council of Ontario Universities (COU), Universities Canada, and Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU)
© 2020 Ryerson University ISSN: 1713-627X • Published June 2020 PUBLICATIONS AGREEMENT NUMBER 40065112
PRIVACY POLICY Ryerson University respects your privacy. On graduation, Ryerson will hold your contact and certain other information so that we can contact alumni to
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discontinue this contact or your free subscription, please email aluminfo@ryerson.ca or call 1-866-428-8881. Please also see www.ryerson.ca/privacy.
2 Ryerson University Magazine / Summer 2020
Support the Ryerson Fund. Visit ryerson.ca/supporting
A community
of helpers and
problem solvers By Mohamed Lachemi
President and Vice-Chancellor
IT MAY SEEM counter intuitive, but is difficult to predict, but I see evolutionary talent, with highly skilled graduates and
the pandemic has been a time for me changes emerging. Online learning has no faculty who can contribute knowledge,
to find many reasons for gratitude. I am doubt found new momentum, however we ideas and research to solve the unique chal-
grateful for all of our alumni who are serv- must see to it that we preserve elements of lenges to come. Our robust innovation eco-
ing and have served in essential roles during the Ryerson brand of education—hands-on, system is poised to help people in need. In
this period. From working on the frontlines experiential learning. These continue to pro- short, we are problem solvers by nature, and
of health care to maintaining the supply vide immense added value. in partnership with governments and oth-
chain and countless, vital positions else- Ryerson can play an important role in sup- ers, we will do our best to be agents for pos-
where, you have the deepest thanks from porting society’s recovery from the conse- itive change in the months and years ahead.
your alma mater. quences of COVID-19. We are a pipeline of It is the Ryerson way.
Gratitude also for the manner in which our
campus community has come together to
adapt quickly and respond to the needs of “Ryerson can play
students. Our highest priority has been to an important role in
supporting society’s
see that students in all years complete their recovery from
semester successfully. All classes were COVID-19.”
moved online, and subsequently many ser-
vices for students as well. An alternate exam
process and grading options were created.
We assisted in the return of more than 200
faculty and students on international trips,
exchanges or placements. For students fac-
ing financial hardship, the Ryerson Student
Relief Fund was launched to meet immedi-
ate needs, with 4,000 applying for support
in the first few weeks.
I am especially proud that our community
members have taken special steps to support
health-care workers with donations of per-
sonal protective equipment. Teams in the
Department of Chemistry and Biology, and
the Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing
ILLUSTRATION BY ADAM CRUFT
gathered close to 100,000 nitrile gloves and
800 N95 masks, along with isolation gowns
and goggles, for Toronto hospitals.
I am frequently asked these days what
the new normal will look like for universi-
ties such as Ryerson after the pandemic. It
Summer 2020 / Ryerson University Magazine 3
Every gift
The Ryerson Fund helps our students realize
their aspirations to make an impact in the world.
Join a community of your fellow alumni by
powers huge giving students crucial support that enriches
their learning experience and ultimately creates
a better future.
potential Your gift can help provide equipment for labs and
studios, place more books and resources in the
Library, and offer financial support to students who
wouldn’t otherwise be able to attend university.
Together, we can empower Ryerson students to
realize their tremendous potential.
Make an impact by giving today at ryerson.ca/ryersonfund
gould street
UPDATES
FROM OUR
CAMPUS
/ COVID-19 RESPONSE / EXHIBITIONS / Q & A / NURSING LAB GIFT / LAW SCHOOL WELCOME /
PHOTOGRAPH BY RYAN WALKER (MFA DOCUMENTARY MEDIA ’13)
Dundas Street was
quiet when Toronto went
into lockdown in March.
COVID-19 WHEN THE World Health Organization
Staying home
identified COVID-19 as a pandemic,
Ryerson responded to help reduce the
spread of the virus while ensuring that
How Ryerson responded students were able to complete their year
of studies. On March 13, the university
to the pandemic announced that classes would move to
virtual or alternate formats. Soon after,
Summer 2020 / Ryerson University Magazine 5
GOULD STREET
the university transitioned to
an essential services model on
campus with most employees
working from home. Faculty
have been working with
university staff to deliver online
courses for students at home
and to create alternate exam
processes and grading options.
Students living in residence
were asked to move out if they
could and the Student Housing
team supported those who were
leaving and the students who
remain on campus because of RYERSON LAW
their circumstances.
While in-person campus More than 75 prospective
events have been cancelled,
students who applied to
many carry on as virtual
gatherings. The annual the new law school gathered
engineering Volkswagen Bug for a special event on
push in the Quad moved online, campus on Feb. 19. After a
raising $7,691 for SickKids
Hospital. Meanwhile Student welcome by Dean Donna
Life created an engaging online Young, the students heard
hub of daily movies and check- more about the co-teaching
ins to maintain contact with
students who were studying model and curriculum
from home. Ryerson set a new at the Faculty of Law.
record for video meetings and
conference calls as work carries
on remotely.
Ryerson researchers are
contributing to global efforts
to address the COVID-19
outbreak. The Social Media
Lab in the Ted Rogers School They are also creating an PPE was in short supply and
of Management developed a online resource hub that high demand by those who
real-time dashboard to debunk provides practical ways to cope needed it most.
coronavirus misinformation with fear and anxiety. Several Ryerson faculties
online. Geography professor recognized this need and
Lu Wang is mapping where COMMUNITY donated and designed what
people go and how they
behave before and after the Answering they could to keep frontline
workers safe.
outbreak to understand how
risk perception and preventive
the call for
personal
Daphne Cockwell School
measures are affecting the DID YOU
of Nursing
transmission of COVID-19
within communities.
KNOW...
protective The school confirmed
inventory remotely and worked
Josephine Wong and Ryerson provided equipment to collect 860 N95 masks and
Mandana Vahabi of the Daphne $5-million in 170 disposable isolation gowns.
emergency
Cockwell School of Nursing are Earlier this year, the world They also donated thousands
funding to students
working with the Regent Park affected by quickly learned the value of of protective gloves, wipes,
Community Health Centre and COVID-19 personal protective equipment soap and hand sanitizer and
the University Health Network (PPE) for health-care hospital beds. Donations were
to develop and deliver an online professionals and frontline delivered to St. Michael’s
intervention to reduce stigma workers in the face of viruses Hospital, the Scarborough
and promote resilience among like COVID-19. At the outbreak Health Network-Rouge Valley
groups affected by COVID-19. of the pandemic in Canada, and Women’s College Hospital.
6 Ryerson University Magazine / Summer 2020
Find out what’s going on at ryerson.ca/news-events/events
Communication and Design’s manages exchange programs At the time of publication,
(FCAD) Creative Technology and supports cross-border 234 students, staff and faculty
Lab repurposed 3D printers partnerships and research. of 305 registered with RI have
and laser cutters to help make He was astonished to receive returned to Canada.—Brian Tran
medical supplies. Teams a reply from Student Mobility
designed and produced plastic Officer Samantha Larocque BLACK STAR COLLECTION
face shields to donate, by
collaborating with Toronto
within 60 minutes of his email
at 6 a.m. Toronto time. A new
General Hospital.
Fashion professors
“I’m not always following
wthe news as much as I should
exhibition
Danielle Martin and Sandra be. I never thought it’d get to grants access to
Tullio-Pow created a hand-
made face mask that can be
this point. I appreciated how
fast
never-before-
washed and sterilized for RI responded,” Becker says. seen photos
continued use. The school Little did he know, Becker’s
lined up 85 volunteers to sew email for help triggered a Imagine this: you have
4,000 face masks in four rapid response from the entire access to 300,000
weeks.—Jessica Leach RI team, who were working photographs from one of the
around the clock to help world’s best-known photo
GLOBAL students, staff and faculty agencies. You have to narrow
Ryerson get home safely.
Larocque put Becker in
that down to a selection of
roughly 220 prints for an
International touch with Nancy Pham, lead
for operations and special
exhibition. It is going to take
you two years to accomplish
team races projects within the team, who from start to finish.
against the immediately called Becker on
Skype and rebooked his flight
This is the challenge that
Paul Roth, Gaëlle Morel and
clock to fly and found him a hotel room their team at the Ryerson
near the airport. Image Centre (RIC) faced
people home “They really saved my butt. when building their exhibition,
Third-year geography The team figured everything “Stories from the Picture
student Josiah Becker was out for me,” Becker says. Press: Black Star Publishing
at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Pham saw Becker’s story Co. and the Canadian Press,”
Airport on the morning of play out again and again, as set to open next year.
March 16, anxious to head her team raced to deal with Ryerson University received
back to Canada after Ryerson the fallout of the pandemic. the Black Star Collection
urged him and other students
PHOTOGRAPH (ABOVE) NIKITA OVSYANNIKOV; (RIGHT) COURTESY OF THE RYERSON IMAGE CENTRE
School of Occupational
and Public Health that were studying abroad
Noting how even small or older to return home.
stores of PPE were critical at When he tried to check
the time, the school donated into his flight, airline staff
spare personal protective told him he couldn’t get on
equipment usually used for the plane.
teaching demonstrations to “Because I was transiting
Sunnybrook Hospital. through the Dominican
Republic and wasn’t a
Faculty of Science resident there, I couldn’t fly
The Department of Chemistry out because of new travel
and Biology rounded up restrictions,” says Becker,
79,000 nitrile gloves, goggles who’s studying environmental
and gowns and donated them and urban sustainability.
to St. Michael’s Hospital, The airline wouldn’t offer
Sunnybrook Hospital and a refund and other flights
Women’s College Hospital. bound for Canada that day
were all more than $5,000.
Faculty of Communication That wasn’t an option for
and Design Becker. Not knowing what Cheetah Discotheque, by John Launois in 1970, is one of the Black Star
At the beginning of the to do, he emailed Ryerson Collection photos selected for the “Stories from the Picture Press:
pandemic, the Faculty of International (RI), which Black Star Publishing Co. and the Canadian Press” exhibition.
Summer 2020 / Ryerson University Magazine 7
GOULD STREET
through a major donation in
2005. It consists of nearly
300,000 photos that
Black Star, a photojournalism
distribution agency, amassed
over the course of the 20th
century. Photographers who
contributed to Black Star
captured everything from
major historical moments to
stock photos of animals and
cityscapes, and sold their
photos to news media around
the world. The collection has
been housed in the RIC since
it opened in 2012.
“The genesis for this
exhibition was to do a show
drawn from our Black Star
press agency archive but Suites in the nursing GIVING Nancy Walton, director
as we evolved the idea, it
State-of-the- of the school, was quick to
lab are equipped for an
operator/lab instructor
expanded. We decided to not acknowledge the impact that
art nursing
to control the simulation
only demonstrate how Black patient’s heart rate such a gift has on the capacity
Star functioned as a press for students to learn. “We’re
simulation
and breathing.
agency in the 20th century, always looking for ways to
[but to also] tell different
‘stories about the stories’ that
lab increases incorporate more simulation
into clinical learning,” she said.
were distributed to the news capacity for “This lab and this equipment
media,” said Roth, director allows us to do it even better.”
of the RIC. learning The FDC Foundation gift
The exhibition will feature When the Daphne Cockwell allowed the DCSN to acquire
35 photo stories that the entire Health Sciences Complex the best and most relevant
Ryerson Image Centre team opened in 2019, it unveiled a patient simulation mannequins
has had a hand in telling. high-tech simulation lab for and debrief software systems,
“With an archive of this Ryerson’s nursing students. which lab technicians operate
size, the risk is that some The lab was built to replicate from control rooms attached to
photos can get buried,”added hospital wards with three large the suites.
Morel, exhibitions curator. 15-bed wards and individual “The mannequins can talk
“[These are] stories that rooms. Look a little further, and respond. If you shine a
inform people on Black Star, though, and you’ll find a space light in their eye, for example,
how it functioned and what where students have access to they can be made to turn their
sort of photographs the media state-of-the-art technology that head,” said Walton.
could find there, but we have gives them practical experience The DCSN, widely known
DID YOU
also opened the archive so that KNOW... before they hit the workforce. for their award-winning virtual
we can rediscover forgotten Students learn in clinical gaming simulations, will use
PHOTOGRAPH BY RYAN WALKER (MFA DOCUMENTARY MEDIA ’13)
photographs and reveal new In September suites where they can practise part of the FDC Foundation
perspectives on past events.” 2020, classes will interactions with patients, gift to develop more
When it comes to new begin for the first in-depth clinical examinations, gamification tools for student
law students at
perspectives, the Black Star Ryerson.
and use nursing station learning. “There is no end to
Collection has plenty to equipment that simulates the complexity of humans.
offer. In preparation for real-life health conditions and Virtual gaming allows us to
the exhibition, Roth, Morel hospital scenarios. build in the complexity that
and their team found images Ryerson’s Daphne Cockwell nurses experience, in a way
of pivotal moments like Patty School of Nursing (DCSN), that students can take in piece
Hearst and the kidnapping the largest nursing school in by piece. This gives them the
of Frank Sinatra Jr., from Ontario, received a gift of more chance to apply it to their
perspectives that the public than $1 million from the FDC real-life experience in the
has never seen before. Foundation to improve their professional world,”
—Jessica Leach existing simulation equipment. said Walton.—Jessica Leach
8 Ryerson University Magazine / Summer 2020To see a video interview with Donna, visit ryerson.ca/news-events/donna-young
Q&A any legal system. Whether law is used
to adjudicate private disputes or to
Dean of law, Donna Young, inform and implement public pol-
icy, it is engaging with questions of
on being back in Toronto and
access and fairness. All societies have
problems of inequality which the law
must grapple with, and innovative and
transforming legal education creative solutions must be fashioned.
Legal education should ref lect that
reality and prepare lawyers to work
creatively in that space.
Fast Facts
Netflix or going to RU Can you speak about your own social
the movies? The justice work?
cinema, I don’t have DY y work on poverty and gender in
M
a Netflix account. developing countries reinforced my
Music or podcasts? understanding of those complexities—
Podcasts and of course those complexities exist
A beach or a city
here at home too.
vacation? Preferably
Much of my research and activ-
a city with a beach!
Pineapple on pizza:
ism has focused on women’s equal-
yes or no? I like it! ity, the rights of people of colour and
employee rights (particularly faculty
rights in the area of higher educa-
tion). As a professor at Albany Law
School I was jointly appointed to the
Department of Gender and Sexuality
Studies because I feel so strongly
that social context matters to law.
Even in foundational law classes like
criminal law or employment law, I’ve
always encouraged my students to
ask, “whose perspectives are missing
from the law, whose interests are not
being served by legal structures?”
RU What’s the best advice you received
as a law student?
DY I t came from Professor Derrick Bell,
the first tenured Black professor at
Harvard Law School and a founder of
Critical Race Theory. On hearing that
I was one of only a handful of Black
law students in Canada and after
having a discussion about my ideas
Donna Young joined Ryerson as found- because of these qualities. The law on using law to address the needs of
ing dean of the Faculty of Law earlier this school was something I wanted to underserved groups, he suggested
year, bringing with her 26 years of expe- be part of for all these reasons and that I consider becoming a law profes-
rience in the legal academy. After nearly because of its emphasis on social jus- sor. Until then I had planned to be a
three decades abroad, she has returned to tice, excellence and access to educa- practising lawyer. But Professor Bell’s
PHOTOGRAPH BY MITCH WOJNAROWICZ
Toronto, her hometown. Young is commit- tion. I was (and am) thrilled by this suggestion of a different path made
ted to providing legal education that focuses opportunity to contribute to this pio- an impression and gave me the confi-
on entrepreneurship, diversity and inclu- neering new law school. dence to consider a career in academia.
sion, and innovation. I have now happily spent most of my
RU Why do you think the legal life as an educator and researcher.
RU What about Ryerson brought you back? education realm needs this focus —Michelle Grady
DY Ryerson is innovative, it’s scrappy, it on social justice?
takes risks, it tries new things. And it DY I think that social justice is, or should This interview has been edited
attracts strong students and faculty be, one of the primary concerns of and condensed.
Summer 2020 / Ryerson University Magazine 9GOULD STREET
GRAPHIC DETAILS
The photographer
who shot the
buzzer-beater
Image arts graduate Mark Blinch captured one of the
most stunning photos in Toronto sports history
IT WAS THE shot seen around the world. in the game
With the score deadlocked in the dying sec- The clock is
at zero as the ball
onds of game 7 between the Toronto Raptors
bounces around the
and the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference rim. Blinch resisted
Semifinals of the 2019 NBA playoffs, Kawhi Leonard took using a lens with
an inbound pass, darted across the floor and tossed up a
high altitude jump shot from the corner of the court. 15f
how far Leonard’s
more magnification
on Leonard to
include elements
The ball hung in the air for what seemed like an eter- shot was from like this, which add
nity before it finally thudded down on the side of the the corner to the visual drama.
rim, bounced three more times and then miraculously
swished through the basket, launching the crowd at
Scotiabank Arena into one of the most frenzied cele-
brations the building has ever witnessed.
If it’s easy to conjure the image of this incredible
moment, that’s surely because it’s been immortalized in
one of the most stunning photographs in Toronto sports
4
the number of
history. The person behind the camera for this decisive times the ball
buzzer beater was Mark Blinch (Image Arts ’06). bounced on
Blinch has received numerous accolades for his pho- the rim before
going in There were other images
tography over the years, but none so prestigious as the taken as the ball bounced and
first place prize that was awarded to this image in the above the rim, but this one was
sports category of the 2020 World Press Photo compe- the obvious keeper. As Blinch
tition. The jury, no doubt, understood how rare it is to says understatedly, “It’s the
moment the game was won.”
capture a photograph so bursting with detail and emo-
tional drama.
Acclaimed French photographer Henri Cartier-
Bresson pioneered the concept of the decisive moment,
that split second when an image perfectly expresses a
92-90
final score for
nba teams in
canada’s history
situation or scene. It would be difficult to imagine a the Raptors
photo that better represents this phrase than Blinch’s
buzzer-beater, which freezes time just as the ball begins
to descend through the hoop.
For his part, Blinch recalls the moment as one of
relief. “I’m glad that there’s a picture there to tell the
story,” he explains. “When you watch the video you can 8
total number of
1946–1947
1995–2001
(moved to
appreciate the shot in its entirety, but when you look at photos Blinch
Memphis)
the photograph, you can really stop and digest what is took at that
happening without distraction.” —Derek Flack moment 1995–Present
10 Ryerson University Magazine / Summer 2020The
Raptors won
their first Eastern
Conference title and One of the keys to the photo
advanced to their first is the height from which it was
NBA Finals where they taken. “I am thankful I was
won their first NBA positioned from a high vantage
championship point, because you can really see
in 2019. a story on everyone’s face as the
ball drops,” Blinch explains.
In the anticipation
The camera was about the fate
pointed at the game’s of the shot, it
hero, Kawhi Leonard. appears that
“The ball bouncing Philadelphia player
around created so Ben Simmons is
much drama, giving
PHOTOGRAPH BY MARK BLINCH/NBA/
the first person
Leonard time to squat to realize that the
GETTY IMAGES (IMAGE ARTS ’06)
down, and build an game is over. His
enormous amount of look says it all.
tension for everyone
in the building,”
says Blinch.
Top 200 shot locations,
2013/14–2017/18
Summer 2020 / Ryerson University Magazine 11They came. They learned. They conquered. Congratulations to the 2020 Alumni Achievement Award winners. For details regarding a celebration event for these recipients and new alumni programs, visit ryerson.ca/alumni.
Alumni Award of Distinction
Karla Avis-Birch Paul Duffy Elisa Levi
Civil Engineering ’98 Applied Computer Nutrition and Food ’01, RD,
Vice President, GO Stations Science ’89 MPH, MD (2021)
Capital Delivery, Metrolinx President, NexTech, President, Elevi Consulting
AR Solutions Inc.
Alessandro Munge Annie Ropar
Interior Design ’94 Business Management ’94
Founder, Studio Munge Chief Financial Officer and
Chief Administrative Officer,
Canada Infrastructure Bank
Isadore Sharp Outstanding Recent Graduate
Curtis Oland
Fashion Design ’17
Creative DirectorT H E P H OTO G R A P H Y I S S U E 14 RY E R S O N U N I V E R S I T Y M AG A Z I N E
14
BIG PICTURE
In a world of images, meet 12 photographers and experts in the field who turn a careful lens to document our time,
inspire us to take a closer look at reality, and challenge us to understand a different perspective.
Ryerson University Magazine / Summer 2020
GUTTER CREDIT HERET H E P H OTO G R A P H Y I S S U E — E DWA R D B U RT Y N S K Y
Homesteads #29, Walkerville,
Montana, 1985. A “very artful, but
also very deadpan” depiction of 01
human-shaped landscapes.
A LIFE
IN
15
PHOTOS
RENOWNED PHOTOGRAPHER
RY E R S O N U N I V E R S I T Y M AG A Z I N E
EDWARD BURTYNSKY
CONNECTS PEOPLE TO THE
WORLD THROUGH HIS IMAGES
GUTTER CREDIT HERE
By Wendy Glauser
Photographs by
Edward Burtynsky
Summer 2020 / Ryerson University Magazine 15RY E R S O N U N I V E R S I T Y M AG A Z I N E
Edward Burtynsky (Photographic Arts,
’82) is world-renowned for his massive,
incredibly detailed and arresting vistas of
places we wouldn’t otherwise see: the tur-
quoise pools of lithium mines; oil pump
jacks and rigs that stretch into the vast hori-
zon; jagged slabs of a gargantuan marble
quarry. His works give you the feeling that
you’ve stepped into them. This is not only
because of their scale—his photos are fre-
quently displayed as 60-by-80-inch prints,
and more recently, a select few have been
16
released as 10-by-20-feet murals. It’s also
their detail, like how you can make out the
logo on a plastic bottle in a mountain of gar-
bage. His career documenting human-cre-
ated landscapes began at Ryerson, when
his instructor, Rob Gooblar, assigned the
class to photograph “evidence of man.”
“It literally gave me a free pass to be an alien, as if I was an
alien looking at what this species, humans, is doing to the planet,”
explained Burtynsky, through his electric car’s Bluetooth speaker,
as he drove from a meeting in Toronto in early March.
For Gooblar’s assignment, Burtynsky shot old shipping canals
in St. Catharines, where his parents, newcomers from Ukraine,
T H E P H OTO G R A P H Y I S S U E — E DWA R D B U RT Y N S K Y
raised him and his siblings. His father, who worked at an auto
plant, purchased cameras and a dark room from an amateur pho-
tographer when Burtynsky was 11, sparking an early fascination.
The black and white shipping canal prints are part of a donation
that Burtynsky is giving to the Ryerson Image Centre (RIC) this
year. This gift is the first of a multi-year donation, each represent- from the beginning. But in another sense, he
ing about a decade of Burtynsky’s career. With the archive, Ryer- was very much like any other art student, he
son will hold the largest institutional collection of his work. Bur- was trying out different styles,” says Roth.
tynsky, an Alumni Award Achievement recipient, says the centre is Having benefited from the instructors
“near and dear to my heart” and he wants his work to be accessi- who exposed him to a number of different
ble to students and researchers when it’s not being exhibited. “It’s influences, Burtynsky was driven to help
kind of a live, active place to put my collection,” he says. shape the next generation of artists. “He
Paul Roth, director of the RIC, helped to curate the collection, doesn’t trumpet it, but he’s donated more
one that powerfully chronicles the progression of his vision. “Ed was money than anybody to support the growth
really preternatural. He had a sense of what he wanted to do right of our collection,” says Roth.
16 Ryerson University Magazine / Summer 2020T H E P H OTO G R A P H Y I S S U E — E DWA R D B U RT Y N S K Y
Railcuts #11, C.N.
Track, Thompson River,
British Columbia, 1985.
The rail cut images
show the “beginning of a
Burtynsky viewpoint.”
17
The first collection of 142 images reveals Burtynsky’s transition The blues and yellows pop and harmonize
RY E R S O N U N I V E R S I T Y M AG A Z I N E
to bigger and bigger projects, from farms to factories to rail cuts. like an ad, in juxtaposition to the everyday
It also shows his early move to colour. In the late ’70s, Burtynsky banality of the scene. These early photos
explains, almost all art photographers were shooting in black and may not look like what we know “a Bur-
white, and colour was taught for those interested in commercial tynsky” to be today, notes Roth, but we see
photography—“cars, bottles, clothing.” The fact that colour was themes in his oeuvre appearing.
“so lightly explored” in art photography at the time was what drew “You can absolutely feel his vision, how
him toward it. “I find it interesting to push boundaries,” he says. he’s looking at the interaction between
Burtynsky’s eye for colour is evident early on. In one image in man and machine, between man and
the collection, women chat across a conveyor belt, packing apples. nature,” says Roth. Burtynsky experienced
Summer 2020 / Ryerson University Magazine 17RY E R S O N U N I V E R S I T Y M AG A Z I N E
us, to feed our lifestyles. He wants to show
“how we, as humans, collectively reshape
the landscape with large-scale human sys-
tems.” His work “stands in lament for the
loss of biodiversity in nature.”
To drive home our collective role in this
loss, Burtynsky cites the work of William
Rees, a University of British Columbia pro-
fessor emeritus, who calculated that the
average person in the world requires 2.2
hectares to survive. But in the West, we
each consume 8.8 hectares for the food,
minerals, lumber and other raw materials
our lifestyles require. “For everybody else
to meet our standard, we’re short three
planets. Everybody’s wanting to have a life
like us in the West, but there’s not enough
planet to do it. So we are on this crazy tra-
jectory,” says Burtynsky.
But rather than be a source of sadness,
his work gives him hope. “The one thing I
can do is be on the right side of history and
these interactions in a more visceral way than most—before he Above: Holland Marsh, add my voice to a growing group of citi-
started at Ryerson, he worked in factories building trucks and cars, Ontario, from the zens, artists, engineers, scientists and poli-
and he worked in a gold mine in northern Ontario to help pay for series Packing, 1983. ticians who are sounding the alarms.”
his schooling. Burtynsky’s photos can take years of
As Burtynsky’s lens widens, the influence of the “New Topo- preparation. The first time he asks for
18
graphics” movement on his work becomes apparent. In one of access to a mine, factory or oil field, the
Burtynsky’s photos from 1985, a boy plays with dogs in a dusty answer is typically no. “You spend any-
Montana town with a railway just metres from houses. Burtynsky where from months to years converting the
said he was inspired by photographers like Stephen Shore and no into a yes,” he says, adding that now he
Lewis Baltz, who captured the uniformity of suburban develop- has staff who will call on his behalf. Some-
ments with a subtle critique. It was a shift away from centu- times, he thinks people agree simply so
ries of landscape photography that “was a celebratory act towards he “stops bugging them.” But it helps that
nature” toward a “very artful, but also very deadpan” depiction of Burtynsky shows up with his own steel-
human-shaped landscapes, Burtynsky explains. toed shoes and helmet, and that he can say
The rail cut photos represent the “beginning of he was a miner himself. It helps too that his
a Burtynsky viewpoint,” says Roth. “You’re looking photos are “revelatory, not accusatory.” He
at a place from seemingly impossible locations, and doesn’t do “a takedown of a corporation,”
you ask yourself, ‘is he floating?’” While drones make he says. “I’m interested in reconnecting
these images possible today, in the 1980s, Burtynsky people to the worlds that are important to
was climbing mountains with a large-view camera and their lives.”
equipment in his backpack, Roth notes. Due to the pandemic, Bur tynsky ’s
Burtynsky has been criticized for the clean lines planned photo shoots in Africa and exhib-
T H E P H OTO G R A P H Y I S S U E — E DWA R D B U RT Y N S K Y
and beauty in his photos, given that they’re docu- its around the globe have been postponed.
menting the destruction of forests and toxic pollution. In the meantime, he’s doing his part to
Roth sees it differently. “There’s a whole tradition in help frontline workers: Think2Thing, a 3D
landscape art, about the conflict between beauty and printing atelier he co-founded in 2014, has
terror or fear, and it’s called the sublime. Ed is one of Self Portrait #1, 1983 created a design for a 3D-printed, snap-to-
the foremost practitioners of the sublime today,” he gether face shield, which is available for
says. It’s because of the gripping power of his images that we gaze download and printing. He is also working
long enough to take in the terror, “which is the realization we have on a new “isolation” series which he hopes
when we understand that ‘Oh my gosh, this is something that was to release in the fall. For more information,
done at a huge scale for us so that we can have marble counters or visit edwardburtynsky.com.
so that we can drive our car.’”
Indeed, for the most part, Burtynsky avoids including peo- All images © Edward Burtynsky/Nicholas
ple’s faces in his landscapes and often excludes people altogether. Metivier Gallery, Toronto. The Edward
That’s because, as he explains it, the landscapes he photographs Burtynsky Collection, Ryerson Image Centre,
aren’t created by a handful of individuals, they’re created by all of gift of the artist, 2019.
18 Ryerson University Magazine / Summer 2020T H E P H OTO G R A P H Y I S S U E — S A R A H PA L M E R
02
TIME TRAVELLER SARAH PALMER (IMAGE ARTS ’08) TELLS MULTI-LAYERED
STORIES WITH HER ICONIC PHOTOS
Being included in TIME Magazine’s Top 100 photos of 2019 for the Celine Dion photo (above) I took for
The Walrus was really exciting. Celine Dion was ending her residency in Las Vegas, and I had always wanted
to photograph this powerful female artist who I grew up listening to and admiring. I thought the energy
19
around her shows would be really good to photograph, as well.
The Walrus story told me that during be a decent shot, so on masking tape, the way I shoot.
is about how Dion one of her last songs, I was saving it to pair and choose what to I’m also into
has invigorated Las “To Love You More,” with a shot from the merge together. photographing how
Vegas, and how she’s the superfans rush show. When I was about people gather and act
become somewhat to the stage and the When I take 21 or 22, I was around big events,
of an institution security guards can’t a photo, I know taking pictures on a more than the main
there. I wanted to pair stop them. exactly how much to family vacation and event itself. I’ve
her as an icon—using So I planned for that advance the film and accidentally took a shot at events like
her wax figure at and waited in the area how much I’m going double exposure. the Pyeongchang
PHOTOGRAPHS BY (TOP RIGHT) SARAH PALMER (IMAGE ARTS ’08); (RIGHT) AMY POWELL
Madame Tussauds— where you leave the to be overlapping the I thought it was Olympics, Donald
with her performing auditorium to go to next frame. interesting and I really Trump rallies, the
her last show there. the bathroom. When Most shoots span liked shooting that Republican National
Her team wasn’t the song started, I a few days so I carry way. In memories, Convention and
giving out media ran to the stage and I up to 10 small Holga time and things get Trump’s inauguration
passes for her final was there for a couple cameras. I write jumbled up together, for my coverage called
show, so The Walrus of songs before I got down what I shot on and I wanted to Drunk on Trump,
bought me a ticket. kicked out. the back of each one, represent that in which views the Trump
Front row seats were That’s how I got phenomenon from
$2,000 to $3,000 that one photo of her the perspective of
each, so I was sitting close to the front of an outsider.
further up in the the stage. There’s often so
RY E R S O N U N I V E R S I T Y M AG A Z I N E
auditorium. I shoot on film, much to see and hear
I had to figure out using multi-frame at big events that you
how I was going to exposures in-camera, get lost in focusing on
get down to the front so I have to plan out one particular thing.
to photograph her, so the compositions I I want viewers to not
I went on Celine Dion want ahead of time. only see what it’s like
chat rooms and fan Earlier in the day, I had to be at these events,
pages and met up taken the photo of the but to feel it too.
with some superfans wax figure first, and I — Interview by
in Las Vegas. They knew it was going to Sarah Palmer Deborah Smyth
Summer 2020 / Ryerson University Magazine 19RY E R S O N U N I V E R S I T Y M AG A Z I N E
Faye is a tattoo artist in Vancouver.
03
CELE-
BRATING
20
SISTER-
HOOD
HOW ALIA YOUSSEF IS
CHALLENGING STEREOTYPES
OF MUSLIM WOMEN
ONE PHOTO AT A TIME
T H E P H OTO G R A P H Y I S S U E —A L I A YO U S S E F
By Deborah Smyth
Photographs by Alia Youssef
GUTTER CREDIT HERE
20 Ryerson University Magazine / Summer 2020T H E P H OTO G R A P H Y I S S U E —A L I A YO U S S E F
Ayaan is a community activist in Toronto.
When photographic arts
student Alia Youssef
(Image Arts ’17) walked
into her Women in Islam
course in her fourth year
at Ryerson, little did she
know she’d get an idea that
would change her life.
“During that class, we were discussing
media representation of Muslim women
21
and I’d heard a classmate say that they were
tired of all Muslim women being painted
with the same brush, and it was a light bulb
moment for me,” recalls Youssef, who is set
to graduate from the master’s program in
Documentary Media at Ryerson this fall.
“When I moved to Canada from Cairo
post-9/11, I became very aware of all the
negative and one-dimensional stereotypes
that exist about the Muslim community … I
realized that for my thesis project I wanted
to photograph Muslim women and show the
diversity of not only how we look, but our
stories and experiences.”
For The Sisters Project—named after a
common term of endearment between
Muslim women—Youssef started pho -
tographing women she was connected
to through friends, family and school,
and posting their images and stories on
Instagram and a blog.
RY E R S O N U N I V E R S I T Y M AG A Z I N E
Youssef continued the project post-gradu-
ation, eventually photographing 160 women
in 12 cities across Canada, and exhibiting
the photos at the Ryerson Image Centre
in the fall of 2018. Word spread about
GUTTER CREDIT HERE
Youssef’s project, which includes striking
portraits of diverse Muslim women, rang-
ing from a lawyer to a yoga studio owner to
a program manager of a British Columbia
Summer 2020 / Ryerson University Magazine 21RY E R S O N U N I V E R S I T Y M AG A Z I N E
Uma is an educator and poet in Calgary. Nourin, photographed in St. John’s.
22
Teacher and coach Saadia in Montreal. Community activist Khadija in Ottawa.
“DIVERSIFYING
REPRESENTATION IN
rainforest-focused environmental orga- PHOTOGRAPHY CAN and Mail that used text and photos to pro-
nization. Her project has been covered by ONLY BE DONE IF YOU file six Muslim women affected by Quebec’s
media outlets such as BuzzFeed, the Globe religious symbols law (formerly Bill 21). Text
and Mail, Refinery29 and ELLE Magazine. DIVERSIFY WHO IS complements photos by providing “a deeper
“I never dreamed [this project] would BEHIND THE LENS” insight into who those people are,” she says.
get the kind of attention and success that it The opportunity to tell a story by com-
did,” says Youssef, who was recently invited bining text with photographs—and also
to speak about her project for WE Day, and shown in such places as Times Square to connect with a wider community—has
at the Aga Khan Museum, in Toronto. and London’s Piccadilly Circus, in Oprah made Instagram a key platform for Youssef.
The project’s theme of representation Magazine, Glamour magazine and Toronto “People are able to comment and follow
has also resonated with global brands. Transit Commission (TTC) stations. one another and connect with one another,
Youssef ’s photos are featured in Project It’s a big deal to Youssef, who points out and create friendships, so Instagram has
T H E P H OTO G R A P H Y I S S U E —A L I A YO U S S E F
#ShowUs, a partnership between Getty that, globally, female photographers take been an integral part of building a commu-
Images, Dove and the agency GirlGaze, only five to 10 per cent of advertising and nity through my projects. It’s been exciting
which is creating a catalogue of more than media photographs. “I believe that diver- to see the sisterhood form and grow.”
5,000 stock images that redefine beauty sifying representation in photography can Youssef’s latest project takes The Sisters
stereotypes. For the catalogue, she photo- only be done if you diversify who is behind Project a step further, focusing on intergen-
graphed Mehnhaz, a master’s pharmaceuti- the lens taking the photograph,” she says. erational portraits of Muslim families.
cal student who had been part of The Sisters Youssef doesn’t only rely on images to Due to Islamophobic and xenophobic
Project, doing everyday things: going to the share stories of Muslim women. She inter- rhetoric, “many myths and stereotypes exist
library, studying, hanging out at home and viewed the women she photographed in The about Muslim communities that have over-
going to the lab. Her images of Mehnhaz Sisters Project and included information shadowed our histories and experiences
were used to advertise the entire project about them in the captions. In December within Canada,” says Youssef. “So we hear
when it launched in 2018, and have been 2019, Youssef wrote a story for The Globe phrases such as ‘go back to your country.’
22 Ryerson University Magazine / Summer 2020T H E P H OTO G R A P H Y I S S U E — B L A N C H E J O S L I N
Aya is a journalist in Hallifax.
04
CATCHING CRIMINALS
FRAME-BY-FRAME
FORENSIC VIDEO ANALYST PRESERVES DIGITAL
EVIDENCE FOR THE TORONTO POLICE SERVICE
When Blanche Joslin copies you’re not losing pieces or having
a hard drive or brings out detail files go corrupt is incredibly
23
on a piece of footage, there’s a important,” she says. Once she’s
Anum, a physiotherapy student sense of urgency. “It could be the created a duplicate, Joslin can
pictured in Saskatoon. difference between catching a use techniques and software to
person before they do the next clarify the licence plate of a car in
crime or not,” says Joslin (Film low-resolution CCTV video or edit
and Photography Preservation two cameras’ videos together so
and Collections Management ’18). an individual’s movements can be
Joslin has been working as viewed continuously. Eventually,
My aim with this project is to complicate the
a forensic video analyst in the she’ll verify the evidence in court.
homogeneous depictions of Muslim com- Homicide Unit for the Toronto Joslin became interested in
munities by asserting an intergenerational Police Service since January digital forensics while doing her
record of our experiences through a gen- 2019. In the role, she meticulously master’s at Ryerson. She read
dered lens. I want to create a space where copies and backs up footage that about the tools and techniques
Muslim women can reclaim their represen- is believed to contain evidence, for her thesis—which was a
taion and narratives, past and present, that and she uses software to enhance workflow for the Archives of
the photographic material. Most Ontario on processing born
have largely been rendered absent.”
of the footage comes from CCTV digital files on physical carriers,
This project, Generations, was to be exhib- cameras. “The detectives can’t like USB drives and cell phones.
ited at the Prefix Institute of Contemporary tell us what they’re looking for. Viewing videos of crimes on a
Art as part of the DocNow Festival this sum- They can’t say, ‘I want you to find daily basis “definitely takes a lot of
mer. However, because of the pandemic, that gun’,” says Joslin. “Instead, emotional labour,” says Joslin, but
that will be postponed. Instead, Youssef will they tell us the time frames they she keeps things in perspective,
want clarified, and we do what we knowing that what she’s viewing
launch the project as an online exhibit.
can so they can see everything are single events in a city of
As a portrait photographer, Youssef ’s possible during that portion.” millions. Plus, she’s fascinated by
RY E R S O N U N I V E R S I T Y M AG A Z I N E
work has “halted to a stop” because of the By following specific the research and policy questions
pandemic, she said in April. “I’m currently processes, Joslin can create an posed by the work, such as what
spending time working on the writing com- exact duplicate of a file without are the technical and ethical
ponents of my new project. It’s really diffi- damaging it or tampering with implications of capturing live
evidence. She has to follow stream videos from social media
cult not being able to work at the moment,
meticulous rules about preserving as evidence? One day, Joslin
but the pandemic has given me extra appre- digital files for decades. “The hopes to pursue a PhD to answer
ciation for the fact that I get to do what I love retention period for any homicide these questions. For now, she
as a career.” For more information, visit evidence is forever. Archiving has files to process and secure—
thesistersproject.ca. and managing assets so that stat.—Wendy Glauser
Summer 2020 / Ryerson University Magazine 23RY E R S O N U N I V E R S I T Y M AG A Z I N E
05-08
In my view could be an opportunity to
Natalia Dolan make the world a better place.
PANDEMIC PICTURES (Image Arts ’09)
@nataliadolan_ How are you sourcing photos
MEMORABILIA FROM CANCELLED EVENTS, @inmyview___ from places like Jordan,
CLOTHES IN THE BATHTUB AND EMPTY STREETS. Russia and Japan?
WE ASKED 4 RYERSON IMAGE ARTS ALUMNI TO SHARE For your project, In My View, I started by asking friends,
THEIR PHOTOS OF THE PANDEMIC you’re curating photos people ‘Can you take a photo from
By Wendy Glauser have taken from their windows. your window?’ And then
Where did the idea come from? I’d ask them, ‘Do you know
During the lockdown, I’ve somebody else living in an
been isolating in our little interesting part of the world
country house in Prince and can you ask them to
Edward County. My husband take a picture?’” When I get
is in the military and away a an email from somebody,
lot, so I’ve been mostly on my my heart flutters. I think,
own, looking out the window, ‘What do I imagine that part
seeing the woods and the of the world looks like, and
wildlife. I thought, ‘Isn’t it so what does it actually look
interesting that many people like?’ We see tourist views
all over the world are having or sensationalized views of
a similar experience to me?’ places, but the project shows
We’re all being forced to stop these places from the point
and look out at the world, of view of the people who live
and to reflect inward too. there every day. The project
We’re experiencing the same has evolved and I’ve been
questions. I think there is real starting to add audio and text.
24
power in this global solidarity. It’s my hope that this project
In this time of reflection, there makes us feel more connected.
Through the window taken on Mother’s Day. You
Dublin, Ireland
Christopher Manson can tell she’s about to cry.
(MFA, Documentary I’ve taken photos of friends,
Media ’11) @mansonphotog of my girlfriend’s kids, of
the owner of the pub I would
What has the pandemic normally go to once a week.
been like for you so far? Imagine opening your pub
T H E P H OTO G R A P H Y I S S U E — C H R I S TO P H E R M A N S O N — N ATA L I A D O L A N
I’m in rural England. I moved and having that social life,
here about three years ago every single day of your life for
after living in cities for many decades, and then it’s suddenly
years, as a lifestyle choice. stopped. Things don’t change
We have a large garden, so much here, but this has
I can get outside. I have changed people’s lives quite
projects to work on, and I’m dramatically.
teaching photography online,
Gorgan, Iran
so it hasn’t been as much Are you starting any other
of a burden for me. projects?
I’m trying to find new
What inspired you to take ways to tell the story of
these window portraits? what’s happening. I bought Warsaw, Poland
It’s ironic. Now I have time memorabilia online from
to see my family and friends, events that never happened,
I realize I took for granted so that I can photograph them.
the times I could have seen I have a tennis ball from this
them and we were all too busy. year’s cancelled Wimbledon
With these photographs, there Championships, for example.
might be a chance to see them It’s quite strange, to be holding
more, despite the barrier. The in my hands memorabilia for Nandi County, Kenya
one of my mom (above) was events that haven’t happened.
24 Ryerson University Magazine / Summer 2020T H E P H OTO G R A P H Y I S S U E — L U CY L U — RYA N WA L K E R
Only connect see in the world. However,
Ryan Walker over time, I want to create
(MFA, Documentary Media ’13) a collection of images that
@ryanwalkerphoto converse with one another.
For me, editing and
How are you capturing sequencing the photographs is
the pandemic? just as important as shooting.
I began shooting the obvious
places—empty streets, How important is
shopping malls, and other photography in documenting
once-busy public spaces. Since a crisis like this?
the new social distancing rules Photography documents
were enacted, I’ve only left both history and the human
the house for exercise, fresh experience. It has the power
air and supplies, so I’m now to connect us with others
only shooting images on these at a time when we feel so
outings. I typically interact disconnected. I often think
with those I photograph, so about what our relationship
not being able to engage with with the planet might look
people has been difficult. My like post-COVID. I spent the
work has evolved to become last nine years photographing
a reflection of physical people who live off the land
distancing, where vast and I often wonder if more
negative spaces are created people will want those kinds of
and people are dwarfed connections with the natural
by their surroundings. world once this is all over.
I’m responding I think this is a humbling
photographically to what I moment for humanity.
25
Day by day photo of a couple of friends
Lucy Lu (Image Arts ’15) of mine who came to visit me
@lucyluphoto while they were on a walk. We
chatted through the window.
What made you decide There’s also a self-portrait
to document your daily life I took by the window with
during this pandemic? the sun on my face. I think
I was already doing a ‘365 it speaks to how much we
project,’ where you take a take being able to go around
photo every day for a year. As outside for granted.
things changed so drastically, I
felt it was even more important How do you feel this time
to document my internal is affecting your growth as
world. It’s symbolic because a photographer?
we’re all taking things day It’s definitely challenging me
by day right now. to think of what I could do with
the restraints that I have. I’m
Can you tell me the stories a portrait and documentary
behind some of the photos photographer, so I’m used to
you’ve taken? being in front of people and in
RY E R S O N U N I V E R S I T Y M AG A Z I N E
There’s a photo of me washing the midst of things. Now, I’m
my clothes in the bathtub. We trying to find unique things
usually go to a laundromat but to photograph at home. I’m
it’s closed. Washing clothes by drawing and painting. I think
hand is a horrible experience, that when things go back to
because you can only wash normal, maybe I’ll recognize
five or six pieces at a time. all the creative restrictions
We don’t have a lot of space I thought I had before weren’t
for drying. There’s another really restrictions.
Summer 2020 / Ryerson University Magazine 25You can also read
