ADAM KINGSMITH

Toronto, ON

“In the 2018 I was appointed as the role of archives officer for CUPE 3903, a public sector union representing thousands of teachers and researchers at York University. What followed over the next 143 days was the longest post-secondary strike in Canadian history.

My role was to document the workings of the union and the actions of the strikers. I took hundreds of pictures on picket lines, in town-hall meetings, and during marches and demonstrations across the GTA. The images I have included use my custom fractal lenses on Ilford HP5 B&W to document the largest march of the strike in April 2018.

The march down University avenue was to show solidarity in rejecting the forced ratification vote put forward by the employer and to celebrate the renewed energy of CUPE members to continue striking for a better contract. I intentionally used fractal lenses to document the march because I wanted to give the images a grainy, timeless quality, as if they could be from a strike in 2018 or 1918. My aim was to showcase the mass of entangled bodies and ethereal fractal reflections in the street, swaying in unison towards a shared purpose. My focus is on the continued importance of collective action and solidarity when fighting for social justice.”