Artist Statement
In my photography, I attempt to capture moments in time that have a quiet
emotion to them. I tend to avoid human presence, instead focusing
on the objects that humans construct, maneuver and discard. Through patterns
and shapes, and light and shadow, I hope to kindle in the viewer an empathy
for the objects I photograph, or to view them as a personification of a part
of themselves.
Working primarily in black and white, my recent work has focused on these themes within an urban landscape. I feel that the concrete and asphalt of a city imparts a cold and lonely feeling that is further accentuated by the tonalities of a black and white photograph. The city is rife with still lifes and juxtapositions, waiting to be photographed.
About Paul Politis
I am a self-taught photographer from Montreal, Quebec, (born in 1969) and currently living in Ottawa. I have been making photographs since 1988, first in the traditional chemical darkroom, and since 2005, digitally.
I have been selling prints to collectors and black and white photography enthusiasts through my website, www.paulpolitis.com, since 2001, and I am currently represented by La Petite Mort Gallery in Ottawa.
My work has appeared or been reviewed in several magazines internationally, including Shutterbug Magazine, Black & White Photography (UK), The American Muse, Spiritus: A Journal of Christian Spirituality and CHIP Foto-Video (Romania). A series of my photographs of Ottawa Valley ghost towns also appeared online at Canadian Geographic in 2006.
My prints are also held in private collections, and in the collection of the National Arts Centre (NAC) in Ottawa.
Exhibitions
May 30, 2008 — La Petite Mort Gallery: “Simple things” (Solo
show)
December 7-30, 2007 — La Petite Mort Gallery (Group show)
