Holden Luntz Gallery - 15.11.2023

Barbara Cole: Between Worlds

For the past three decades, Canadian photographer Barbara Cole has been pushing the boundaries of photography. Having been called an innovator countless times, her approach to photography merges turn-of-the-century traditions with digital technologies to create ethereal works of art. Cole’s beginnings in photography were rather unorthodox, not having received a formal education in the arts, she was introduced to the medium through her early experiences in the fashion industry. She began working at the Toronto Sun at the age of 17, where she worked for the next 10 years, before moving towards photography. While with the Toronto Sun, she was involved in the process of composing and styling a scene, which ultimately made her realize how much she enjoyed creating atmospheres and stories through costume and set couture. Cole slowly began practicing her craft, further becoming interested in the painterly qualities and possibilities of photography. To this day, she lists Sarah Moon, Paolo Roversi, Peter Lindbergh and Heinrich Kühn as her biggest influences.