Anthony Redpath | Re-Fined



Anthony Redpath's latest photographic series focuses on the industrial history of coastal British Columbia. Framing worn-down or vacant buildings, Redpath positions his lens at close range to distill his subjects into a series of abstracted planes of  shape and texture. Further enhanced by the complex ribbing, vaulting and rustication of the sugar refinery, pulp mills, and oil refinery that comprise the series, Redpath's attention to detail reveals the effects of time on these monolithic architectural subjects. Works in RE-FINED are technical, beautiful images which respond to shifting understandings about industry as an important feature of the Canadian landscape.

Following the work of Bernd and Hilla Becher, Andreas Gursky and Candida Hofer, Redpath's treatment of his subjects entices the viewer to go beyond the documentary style and examine closely the surface sensuality and rich palette of a decaying landscape. As critic Sky Gooden has observed, "where the Bechers stood back from their industrial subjects, Redpath rushes in."