Rip Hopkins — Canada Canada

Galerie d’Art d’Ottawa
Hôtel de ville, 110, avenue Laurier Ouest – Ottawa (CANADA)
From the 28^th of April to the 11^th of June 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.  Rebecca Basciano, Assistant Curator  Organized by Ottawa Art Gallery (OAG) and the French Embassy, with the support of the British High Commission and Ottawa 2017.