Collection search - David Campion fonds [graphic material]

Record information – Brief
1
David Campion fonds [graphic material]

Hierarchical level:

Fonds

Date:

1992-1993.

Reference:

R12445-0-7-E

Type of material:

Photographs

Found in:

Archives / Collections and Fonds

Item ID number:

3803764

Context of this record:

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David Campion fonds
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Record information – Details

Fonds includes:

11 lower level description(s)
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Date(s):

1992-1993.

Place:

Alberta:

Place of creation:

Alberta

Extent:

44 photographs, b/w silver gelatine, archivally processed prints, 11x14 in.
Positive Paper Silver - gelatine

Scope and content:

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The collection consists of 44 b/w photographic prints (11x14 in.) from photographer David Campion's project Oil Patch 1992/93. The project documents the oil industry in Alberta from the corporate offices in Calgary to the oil rigs.

David Campion describes the project as follows: I immigrated to Alberta in 1991 and found myself in oil country. Before arriving in Calgary, the closest I had come to a pump jack or petro-dollars was the small screen shenanigans of JR Ewing on Dallas and the black gold rags-to-riches of The Beverly Hillbillies.

Intrigued by the oil business, I set off around Alberta to photograph the industry, hitching rides and cadging places to sleep, attracted by the aura of money and power, and curious about what was involved in producing oil.

With a letter of support from the Petroleum Historical Society, the doors of the industry opened and I tried to look at every kind of job connected to oil and gas production - from managers in boardrooms to cleaners in office towers and rough necks in the field. The more time I spent at drill sites and gas plants, the more I became fascinated with the workers in the head offices back in Calgary who set in motion the massive, coordinated effort of finding and producing oil and gas.

Originally I set out to find the faces behind the industry. At the time, oil was below $20 a barrel and the oil patch was caught in an economic down swing that brought layoffs and company closures. Albertans, who had grown up steeped in the narrative of boom and bust, were nervous. As my work progressed, I found I was increasingly turning my lens away from the individuals and towards the complex paradigm in which they worked.

Provenance:

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Campion, David, 1965-

Biography/Administrative history:

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Campion, David, 1965- : David Campion was born in England and moved to Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) when he was nine. He taught himself photography in Mafeking, South Africa, where he worked for newspapers and NGOs. David emigrated to Canada in 1991, and has been working as a documentary photographer here ever since. David often collaborates with his partner, writer Sandra Shields.

One of David's first projects was Oil Patch, but he has continued to work on several important projects, including photographs of the 'unofficial' Calgary Stampede, 'vulnerable' people (the elderly, the mentally challenged and the mentally ill) within their family and community settings, and the rapidly changing world and society of the Himba people of Namibia.

David and Sandra have published three books, The Company of Others (Arsenal Pulp Press and the Plan Institute, 2005) with a foreword by John Ralston Saul, Where Fire Speaks: A visit with the Himba (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2003), which was awarded the Hubert Evans Price for Best Non-fiction book (BC Book Awards) in 2003, and Wicked little angels (Calgary, 1994).

David's work has been exhibited in both solo and group exhibitions at the Vancouver Art Gallery, Geist Gallery (for the Contact Photography Festival,Toronto), Viewpoint Gallery (Halifax),The Helen Pitt Gallery, Artopolis, XENO Gallery, and the Still Woks Collective (Vancouver). His work has been acquired by the Vancouver Art Gallery and various private collectors.

As well, David and Sandra's work has been extensively published in journals and newspapers, including, Canadian Geographic, Geist Magazine, Adbusters, Vancouver Magazine, Maclean's, Neue Zurcher Zeitung (Switzerland), Natur (Germany), Der Standard: Rondo (Germany), Reader's Digest, The Globe and Mail, Books in Canada, The Calgary Herald, The Georgia Straight, and The Canadian Journal of Photojournalism and Documentary Photography.
David and Sandra have received many awards for their work, including the Hubert Evans Price (see above), the Gold Medal (2002) for the Photo Essay Category of the Western Magazine Awards, a National Media Award (1996) from the Canadian Association for Community Living, and an Honorable Mention (1996) in the Word and Picture Category from the Canadian National Magazine Awards. As well, David and Sandra were Grant Recipients (1995) for the Himba project from the Africa International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development.

Additional information:

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Custodial history:

The photographs were acquired directly from David Campion.

Restrictions on access note:

No restrictions on access.

Source:

Private

Related control no.:

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2008-00063-X
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Graphic (photo)

[Consultation90 Open]

Volume [R12445]

[Consultation 90 Open]

1 Item no. assigned by LAC 1--44

[Consultation 90 Open]

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Copyright: David Campion.

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