Photo Exhibition
Presented by the Goethe-Institut
with CONTACT Photography Festival & Art Metropole
Core exhibition of the CONTACT Photography Festival 2024
Interest in flâneurism within the practice of street photography is resurging but the concept remains problematic for its white male-centred gaze on urbanity. In this new exhibition-in-the-making, renowned artist and Guggenheim Fellow Zun Lee revisits his own street photography practice to depart from the usual focus on wandering. Lee proposes lingering and loitering as reclamation strategies to subvert the way modern technocultural urban spaces regulate wayward bodies. Rather than moving/observing, street photography can be reframed as an active way of destabilizing the urban environement and its sociality, producing alternate ways of understanding and reshaping our world, for bodies behind and in front of the camera.
Zun Lee is a multi-hyphenate artist, physician, and educator, born and raised in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, and currently living in Toronto, Canada. Lee has been an independent photographer since 2014 and has exhibited, spoken, and taught at numerous institutions in North America and Europe. His works are widely published and represented in public and private collections around the world. Honours and awards include: Mellon Foundation Practitioner in Residence, Knight Foundation Grantee, Magnum Foundation Fellow, Paris Photo/Aperture Photobook Awards Shortlist, Photo District News’ 30 New and Emerging Photographers to Watch. Visit the exhibition at the Goethe-Institut Toronto between 3 May - 29 May on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays 11am-5pm (or by request).
Free public programs:
2 May 2024, 5 - 7 pm
@ Goethe-Institut Toronto
Opening event with the artist
Immersive photography “loitering” workshop — by invitation. Local photographers Kalmplex, Sarah Espedido, Ammar Bowaihl, and isi bhakhomen will explore and expand Lee’s leitmotif of loitering as public space reclamation.
15 May 2024, 5 - 6 pm
Hybrid (Zoom/Goethe Space) conversation with Zun Lee and Berlin artists and programmers Karina Griffith, Michael Götting and Noah Anderson on wayward bodies in the public space.
15 May 2024, 6 - 8 pm
Screening of "We Almost Lost Bochum," a documentary about one of the first German hip-hop bands that never made the leap into the collective consciousness. MC Aphroe, Pahel, and Galla plus DJ and producer Mr. Wiz –two white, two black German artists together known as RAG– left their mark on the first German rap boom of the 90s. The film follows the former band members from West Germany’s Ruhr area to Washington D.C. and New York and lets them ruminate on friendship, home, belonging, and fame. The film title is a reference to the Gil Scott-Heron classic "We Almost Lost Detroit."
22 May 2024, TBA
Drop-in portfolio review with Zun Lee – all experience levels welcome
29 May 2024, 5 - 7 pm
Closing with the artist
Follow, tag & talk to us on Instagram @goetheinstitut_toronto #GoetheTO #forGround & @zunleephoto.
About the Artist
Zun Lee is a multi-hyphenate artist, physician and educator who was born and raised in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, and currently lives in Toronto, Canada. The Guggenheim Fellow has been an independent photographer since 2014. Lee has exhibited, spoken and taught at numerous institutions in North America and Europe. His works are widely published and represented in public and private collections around the world. Additional honors and awards include: Mellon Foundation Practitioner in Residence, Knight Foundation Grantee, Magnum Foundation Fellow, Paris Photo/Aperture Photobook Awards Shortlist, Photo District News’ 30 New and Emerging Photographers to Watch.
Read the accompanying exhibition:
Exhibition hours: Wed, Thu, Fr 11 am – 5 pm
Goethe-Institut Toronto, 100 University Ave, North Tower, 2nd Floor
Chef Craig Wong’s JunePlum store & Patois restaurant are creative partners of the Goethe-Institut. Visit JunePlum at Dundas & Palmerston for our storefront satellite photo presentation.
Thank you to Toronto Image Works for the prints.
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