Padre Danzinger, 2011 by Erin Riley
Photography has long been closely associated with wars and conflicts. From the late Robert Capa to Tim Hetherington, whom we recently lost, there is a whole breed of photographers who dedicate their lives to the manmade chaos that is war. Though not a war photographer, Contender Erin Riley's series Vocation focuses on the modern military, documenting the very human side of it.
Padre Demiray, 2011 by Erin Riley
In her statement, Riley writes:
My photographic roots lie in the documentary tradition. And in the last few years, I have become increasingly interested in how the portrait functions as a documentary device. Portraits are intriguing for what they tell us, for how they allow us to stare and to linger. But even more interesting is what they don't show us, and how they often raise more questions than they answer. Vocation is a series of portraits of chaplains in the Canadian Forces. I have asked the padres to allow me to photograph them engaging in the act of prayer. The posture of prayer, the pose—eyes closed, head bowed, hands clasped—is one of contemplation, of turning inward. Upon reflection, I have found many parallels between the act of prayer and the act/ritual of photographing—loading film, head bowed as I look through the viewfinder, looking, searching for light and moments, for answers. Hitting the shutter becomes an act of faith that the photo will materialize, resurrect itself in the developing process. My hope is that these photographs invite the viewer to contemplate, to reflect on the nature of war, on the role of faith and the rhetoric of religion.
Major Michelle Staples, 2011 by Erin Riley
Erin Riley is a photographer based in Toronto, where she has worked as an editorial photographer, with her work appearing in many national newspapers and magazines. In 2010, she completed her MFA in documentary media at Ryerson University. With her roots in the documentary tradition, it is the storytelling aspect of photography that is the driving force in her work. During the spring of 2009, she traveled to the High Arctic with the Canadian Forces as one of five civilian artists chosen to participate in the Canadian Forces Artists Program.
Bible, 2011 by Erin Riley