O'Born Contemporary

Exhibition

The Wave

Dominic Nahr, Solo Exhibition

June 18 – July 30, 2011

Listing.pdf

statement

An 8.9- magnitude earthquake hit northeastern Japan on the 11th of March 2011. A massive wave crashed into the coastline and swept away entire towns and articles of larger cities. The devastation along the northeastern coast has left tens of thousands dead and hundreds of thousand homeless.

The Wave documents the people and the landscape, devastated by this natural catastrophe.

The last days were punished with sickness and the cold. We sleep in a Temple - One of the surviving buildings from the Tsunami that decimated the fishing town of Minamisanriku. Huddled, I keep warm among many. The gentle murmur of breath lifts and recedes in the cold air of the temple. It is one a.m. I lay awake thinking of my father, gone for exactly one month today. Many of the survivors have lost family members too, creating a sense of collective grieving among us. I feel at home and taken care of in this temple among its new residents, as I wrestle with my thoughts. The sun rises and we venture out, hoping to make sense of the devastation that struck the coastline of Tohoku.

- Dominic Nahr

about the artist

Dominic Nahr works with a strong and unwavering gaze, aiming to document and disseminate images of actions that must not be continued or forgotten. He is intent on reporting certain and unflinching narratives about natural catastrophes, civil unrest and crimes inflicted in the pursuit of protecting physical and psychological borders.

Nahr was raised in Hong Kong where he established himself as a photojournalist with South China Morning Post. He relocated to Toronto and subsequently graduated from Ryerson University in 2008.

Nahr has been honored with several prestigious awards, including The Oskar Barnack Newcomer Award. He has been selected as one of the 'Top 30 under 30 photographers' by PDN magazine and has been exhibited at Visa Pour l'Image in Perpignan, France. Nahr was selected to take part in 2010's Joop Swart Masterclass in Holland and received grants from the Pulitzer Center and the Emergency Fund.

Dominic Nahr joined Magnum Photos as a nominee in July 2010. He is a contract photographer for Time magazine and represented by O'Born Contemporary in Toronto. Nahr currently resides in Nairobi, Kenya.