Blue Ruffle, from Shadow Dancing - Available in 2 Sizes
Barbara Cole’s deep appreciation for historical photographic processes led her to create Shadow Dancing, a series that she began in 2011, in which she uses a 150-year-old technique: wet collodion.
“Embracing your shadow means accepting every part of yourself—the light and the dark. It's about recognizing your fears, flaws, and insecurities and integrating them into your whole being. This series depicts various scenes of models in motion, gliding through the picture, creating a beautiful, three-dimensional dance between light and shadow.” – Barbara Cole
The artist’s preference for using one of the very first forms of photography allowed Cole to slow down the overall process of creating a single photograph and spend significantly longer in the dark room. Cole almost shortens the distance between the past and the present by taking a primitive form of the photographic process and modernizing it by adding colour to the tintype, creating mysterious pictures of beige, gray and brown shades.
Barbara Cole is an award-winning Canadian fine art photographer celebrated for her ethereal, painterly imagery and timeless visual language that blur the boundaries between photography, painting, and sculpture. Her distinctive style often featuring submerged figures, flowing fabrics, and soft, diffused light evokes themes of transformation, memory, and the natural world.
Based in Toronto, Cole has built an international reputation through decades of acclaimed work in fine art. Her large-scale installations and commissions include prominent public spaces such as the atrium of the M. Lau Breast Cancer Centre at Princess Margaret Hospital, where her immersive imagery enhances architectural environments with a sense of calm and reflection. Her renowned Underworld series has been exhibited globally, including at Canadian Embassies in Tokyo and Washington, D.C., further solidifying her presence on the international stage.
Cole’s practice has been recognized with numerous prestigious awards, including the Grand Prize at the Festival International de la Photographie de Mode in Cannes and honors at the International Photography Awards in New York. Her work has also been featured in the documentary series Snapshot: The Art of Photography II, highlighting her unique creative process and influence within the field of contemporary photography.
Collected by major institutions and private collectors worldwide, Barbara Cole’s photographs offer a rare combination of technical mastery and emotional resonance. Each piece invites viewers into a tranquil, otherworldly space.
The artist's archival photographs are mounted to an archival substrate. Please contact the gallery regarding availability. Prices are subject to change as the editions sell out.
