“I moved to Hamilton in 2007 from the small rural community of Lafontaine, Ontario, where I had lived for most of my life. I found Hamilton to be disorienting and confusing so I began to photograph it as a way of understanding my new home. In 2008, when I began to photograph Hamilton, the global financial crisis had begun. The steel factories, long a symbol of Hamilton, were being taken over by foreign companies who were downsizing operations. Sensing a shift in Hamilton’s dominant features I began photographing the surrounding landscape, and the working class neighbourhoods. I was fascinated by the gritty personality of the people. Having survived decades of poor economic conditions the recession was business as usual for them. I continue to photograph Hamilton, as I remain captivated by the people and landscape that personify and define this city.”

– Joseph Hartman