The Friction of Distance by Jonathan Taggart – theArtworkHub exhibit at The Network Hub

This past Thursday I attended the second art installation of The Artwork Hub project, an artistic itinerant exhibit curated by Chet Woodside. “The Friction of Distance” is an exhibition of photography by Vancouver-based photojournalist Jonathan Taggart (full disclosure: Jon is a good friend of mine, but I feel the same way regardless about his art – he’s an extraordinary storyteller). It was a really nice evening (which, full disclosure again, I emcee’d – I’m not giving kudos to myself, I’m just noting that I was the MC!). It was a really nice evening, and despite the fact that the event for the opening of Jon’s exhibit was invite-only, there was not a lot of room to move!

I think that’s a testament to Jon’s hard work and the appeal of the way in which he tells his stories as a photo-journalist.

“The Friction of Distance” offers a series of stories from Jonathan Taggart’s recent work with First Nations communities in British Columbia. A collection of compelling and impactful narratives woven around themes of vibrant resiliency, the exhibition opens with Taggart’s exploration of the remote territories of the In-SHUCK-ch Nation, illuminating the cultural and economic implications of isolation as the group transitions through the BC Treaty process. The friction of another distance is recounted in Taggart’s document of one young family’s successful bid to bring their children out of foster care, and lastly, cast in the seemingly frictionless setting of the 2010 Fraser River Sockeye return, the Stó:lō Nation enjoys respite from the ever-present conflict between British Columbia’s Aboriginal and commercial fisheries, where notions of tradition and stewardship rub against those of equal economic opportunity for all the peoples of Canada.

Partial proceeds from print sales generated through this exhibition will benefit the Urban Native Youth Association’s Music, Arts & Culture initiatives.

A born-storyteller, Jonathan has managed to portray with sensitivity and strong visual appeal, several moments in time in the lives of First Nations communities, a challenging subject yet worthy of examination. His exhibit shows a key story of survival and evolution through proper resource stewardship, using solely a photographic approach. Visual storytelling is challenging, so I really loved Jon’s response to an audience member’s question – when looking into a photograph, you should expect the photo to whisper to you. Brilliant response, Jon. Very apt metaphor.

I hope folks will have an opportunity to check out Jon’s exhibit as it’s an extremely solid collection of photographic pieces. The Artwork Hub is open to the public, free of charge, 9am to 5pm Monday through Friday at the third floor, 422 Richards Street.