Love and War is an intimate and unique investigation that reveals the complexity of a young U.S. Army sergeant’s love life—before, during and after her deployment to Iraq. Following his subject Caroline Annandale between the ages of 16 and 25, Montreal-based photographer Guillaume Simoneau documents her transformation through the experience of war and military service as it plays out against her personal world.

The series of images is composed of enigmatic portraits, places and objects, in addition to documentation of personal correspondence through handwritten letters, emails, and text messages. Like a dream or recollection of memories, time collapses as the artist has sequenced the images in a non-chronological order, finding novel and nuanced ways to foreground the changes in Annandale’s identity and sense of self. This personal story is a poetic comment on youth, one’s coming of age, and the indelible effects of love and war.

Guillaume Simoneau is a Canadian photographer based in Montreal. He began his independent studies in art after completing a diploma in applied science. Today, his work centres mostly on transitional spaces within universal themes. His most recent body of work, Love and War was shortlisted for both First Book Award and European Publishers Award For Photography. Love and War is scheduled to be published in 2013 by Dewi Lewis UK. The series recently headlined the Daegu Photography Biennale in Korea and is heading to the Museum of Contemporary Photography Chicago in July 2013 for a three person exhibition entitled Backstory: Ron Jude, Guillaume Simoneau and LaToya Ruby Frazier. Simoneau is currently nominated for this year’s PDN30.

Simoneau is the recipient of CONTACT’s 2012 Portfolio Reviews Exhibition Award. This award, chosen by a jury of international professionals in the field of photography, recognizes outstanding work presented at CONTACT’s annual Portfolio Reviews. The program was created to support and advance the careers of talented emerging artists.

Curated by Tara Smith