/
1x
Advertisement
Proudly Canadian, obsessively Toronto. Subscribe to Toronto Life!
City News

Current Obsession: With Neil Young as his guide, photographer Joseph Hartman went looking for the town he could barely remember

By Nathan Whitlock
Copy link
Joseph Hartman

Joseph Hartman

Neil Young Gothic, if such a thing exists, eschews flash and cleverness in favour of lumber-jacketed authenticity and a wistful, even sentimental yearning for lost homes, places and childhoods. Joseph Hartman taps into that plaintive mode with a new series of photographs created partly as a psychological investigation. Hartman spent his earliest years in First Nations communities on the north shore of Lake Superior, where his mother worked as a teacher. Decades later, he began to wonder if his memories of the area were fabrications based on stories he’d been told by his parents. So, in 2010, at the age of 32, he drove north to find out. Some of the resulting photos, which make up his third solo exhibition, betray the influence of Edward Burtynsky, for whom Hartman works as an archivist. Hartman’s images (like “Boat and Shed, Heron Bay” above), however, are much more intimate than Burtynsky’s, and less journalistic. He is not documenting industry run amok or epic shifts in how we live, but bringing to light seemingly unremarkable places that had, for him, previously existed only in his head. Part of the inspiration for the project, according to Hartman? Young’s aching-for-Ontario tune “Helpless.”

PHOTOGRAPHY Joseph Hartman Nov. 3 to 26 Stephen Bulger Gallery

NEVER MISS A TORONTO LIFE STORY

Sign up for This City, our free newsletter about everything that matters right now in Toronto politics, sports, business, culture, society and more.

By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.
You may unsubscribe at any time.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Advertisement
Advertisement

The Latest

"Coexistence isn't working": Coyotes killed her dog. Now she wants them gone
City News

“Coexistence isn’t working”: Coyotes killed her dog. Now she wants them gone

Inside the Latest Issue

The June issue of Toronto Life features our annual ranking of the best new restaurants. Plus, our obsessive coverage of everything that matters now in the city.