Description
This platinum palladium photograph depicts the City of Ottawa’s Lansdowne Park. The playing field has existed since the 1870s, and the complete stadium since 1908. This image references Frank Clair Stadium prior to renovations in 2012. Due to structural concerns the south side stands were replaced and the stadium has since been renamed TD Place Stadium, home of the Ottawa Redblacks professional football team, and Ottawa Fury FC professional soccer club. This photograph is part of a limited-edition series, Effectus, which is as much about the artistic process as it is about the nine iconic buildings Saltzman has highlighted. The process began by physically bleaching negatives that were then digitally manipulated and ended by hand painting a platinum/palladium emulsion onto paper. Exposed to ultraviolet light, the result is an archival print with precious metals permanently embedded into its fibre. Saltzman’s intention was not to document an isolated moment or paint a realistic picture but to unite historic and contemporary photographic processes to produce an object to be appreciated.
Vera Saltzman studied full time at the School of the Photographic Arts: Ottawa (SPAO), completing their portfolio development program. She is now an award-winning Canadian photographer whose work has been published in numerous magazines and has exhibited in galleries across Canada.