Portraits on Main Street
Community portraits documenting neighbourhoods in transition and celebrating the people and places in four small Nova Scotian towns.
Community portraits documenting neighbourhoods in transition and celebrating the people and places in four small Nova Scotian towns.
©2016 Hannah Minzloff Matthieu Fraser, Highland Bike Shop from the Antigonish Suite 50x81cm, archival pigment print
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Portraits on Main Street speaks to the heart of a community and reflects back the evidence of revitalization and hope I have found through dynamic photographic portraits of shopkeepers on the main streets of four Nova Scotia towns – Antigonish, Dartmouth, Sydney and Yarmouth.
‘The portraits consist of heavily-layered images that focus on the individual, but surround him or her with the equipment and artifacts of their trade. Minzloff doesn’t choose the single best picture from the 100 she took. She blends them all into a single complex image that is both real and surreal.’ Peter Ross, Sydney NS I take up to 100 photographs in each store, selecting twenty or so to compile into the finished images using layers in Photoshop. I cut and paste, duplicate, move around and resize, erasing parts of the image to reveal something on a layer below. Portraits on Main Street is a project which evolves over time. Each town, and in fact every store owner, offers up its challenges to me, as I take the time to figure out what is important to show in each place, and to make my subjects comfortable in front of the lens by drawing them out through conversation while they work. As part of the final exhibition, I will play audio recordings of these candid conversations in a loop along side the photographs. |
Portraits on Main Street’s location-specific approach –profiling the lives, personalities of the inhabitants of these five towns– encourages open conversation around identity, environment, community, and the future. The exhibitions facilitate this by drawing the community in with storytelling circles, development panels, vision walls and local photo-based initiatives and workshops. The first three exhibitions became an exciting motivator for discussion about the future of each community, coinciding with local conversations and planning sessions about revitalizing the downtown.
My motivation for Portraits on Main Street originated when I moved from Halifax to Dartmouth. I looked forward to becoming part of a whole new community. In those first few months, I would enter the shops on Portland Street, introduce myself and meet shopkeepers and other locals. Walking is how I became attached to the streets, and I wanted illuminate the personal connections that are made when commerce and community identify with each other. The complete works were exhibited at the Nova Scotia Archives in October 2016. This project was made possible through funding from:
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The Antigonish Suite
The Dartmouth Suite (formerly Portraits on Portland)
The Dartmouth Suite was purchased by funds provided by Councillor Gloria McCluskey’s discretionary budget for permanent installation at Alderney Landing in Dartmouth, NS. You may view the exhibition at the market level.
The Sydney Suite
The Yarmouth Suite
