The Close Park

"The Close Park" is a series of portraits that documents residents of Hamilton, Ontario, in relation to their physical and social geographies to capture a sense of the city in a period of transition and flux and document Canadian identity in the 21st century. "The Close Park" is a name that my family and I have given to the play area next to our house. Over the years, it has grown with us, becoming an extension of our home in more ways than one. Upon immigrating to Canada in 2013, then moving to Hamilton, Ontario in 2017, we've spent many days and nights at "the close park" getting to know our new home through our neighbours, some of whom are newcomers, just like us, while others were born-and-raised in this city. Oftentimes, I've had a camera with me to shoot my family, and as we continued to spend our time in the close park, I began to take snapshots of my neighbours as well. What started as snapshots on my DSLR camera, developed into portraits taken with a 4x5 large-format camera. At this point, this ongoing project has expanded beyond the park's borders and into my neighbourhood and surrounding areas. I've kept the title "The Close Park" for this work to reflect the intimacy that develops between people and the spaces that are extensions of their lives and identities.