Gerry Schaefer:

Fields to Factories: The Poetics of Hamilton

“In this exhibit, my photography has much in common with the music and fiction that I create. All are imbued with the reality of an industrial/post-industrial community that has much contrast between landscapes shaped by people. Beauty is to be understood in both the banal and the dramatic of Hamilton’s industrial and agrarian spaces. I prefer to document jagged and jarring light that’s found in any scene. Post production is limited to efforts that are aimed at making the printing technology work in harmony with this ethos, rather than as a medium in and of itself.

Hamilton has always been an industrious place and a place of contrasts. It’s a place of factories and farms, of infrastructure and community. For me, the spiritual and moral worth of the city is represented here. My photography aims not to judge but rather to document the way I feel it. My project aims to elevate the banal in ways that I hope come across as appealing studies in line, light and colour. I find myself walking our rural and industrial spaces watching for moments of beauty that feel honestly expressive and representative of my understanding of Hamilton. Some of those moments are collected here in this exhibit.”