In March 2020, we faced something we’d never dreamed of or imagined before, and within days our daily lives were changed by a global pandemic. During this time, artist and photographer Ryan Walter Wagner, created connection by taking portraits to capture that very unique and challenging moment in time; he visited people at their homes and took socially distant portraits of them and their families, often through glass or “the window”.
Scroll down to view this digital gallery. Click on artwork images to see an enlarged or complete view of the piece.
PoMoArts Gallery is open daily for in-person visits and artwork is available for purchase over the phone or in person. See PoMoArts website for Gallery hours and our COVID 19 Safety Plan.
Ryan Walter Wagner
Biography
Ryan Walter Wagner grew up bouncing around Western Canada for the first 20 years of his life and ended up in Vancouver, BC at the end of 1999 where he is currently located and working as an artist & photographer. “Everyday I think about photography and I almost always have a camera with me, just in case. Through my work I love to capture images that create a sense of familiarity and become increasingly more interesting the longer you look at them. I love people watching and having a camera allows me to compose my memories and share interesting stories and scenes. I’m fascinated with the ability to create candidness and honesty in still images, catching that singular moment that speaks for so much longer than it existed.” Some of Ryan’s career highlights include; photographing for the Dali Lama, capturing members of Canada’s 1972 summit series, Chelsea Handler asking him to come on stage with her to make photos in front of a sold-out crowd, working with Juergen Teller on a remote shoot, having his first photo book published as well as having images exhibited and published both nationally and internationally. website: www.ryanwalterwagner.com instagram: @ryanwalterwagner
Artist Statement
As an artist and photographer I am striving to tell stories with a unique eye, to help lift up voices that are underrepresented, and to feature current events and social issues.
Through the Window
In March 2020, we all faced something we’d never dreamed of or imagined before: within weeks - maybe even days - our normal daily lives changed with a global pandemic. One day we were going to work, school, and enjoying the spring cherry blossoms, and the next we were forced inside and apart from almost everyone we knew. The next few months were spent adjusting our routines, trying to stay connected to those we cared about, and watching things change right in front of our eyes. We were more connected through common experience than ever, but often alone or isolated in our glass bubbles. Last year at the beginning of the COVID 19 pandemic, photographer Ryan Walter Wagner started a portrait project that captured people at home in isolation & quarantine. This project, Through The Window, quickly grew to become a way to bring people together and create a community of people interested in sharing their experiences through captivating portraits. These portraits were able to document a very unique and challenging moment in time that can be looked back upon as a turning point in our collective history, either personally or on a more universal level. The emotions captured vary from stoic to somber to jokingly fun moments that all express the vast emotions and reactions we’ve all had to an unfolding event that showed no signs of ending, leaving us all wondering ‘what happens next?’ as we looked out into a changed world, through our windows
See the exhibition
Through the Window is being presented as a live exhibition installed in the gallery and a digital exhibition for viewing online. Ryan Walter Wagner's virtual Artist Talk streams to Facebook live on July 15 2021. The gallery is open daily for in-person visits. See PoMoArts.ca for Gallery hours and our COVID 19 Safety Plan.
Support our local artists!
Through the Window
From March - May 2020, Ryan Walter Wagner of Good Side Photo visited hundreds of individuals, groups, and families at their homes for physically distant quarantine portrait sessions. Some of these photos have been collected in a new photography book, available now.
Ryan Walter Wagner's book is $20 and available for purchase in person at PoMoArts or over the phone 1-(604)-931-2008. (Limited quantities; pick up only)
Credits:
Ryan Walter Wagner