Ruth Kaplan Some Kind of Divine
Ryerson Gallery presents two exhibitions that focus on images made by women.
Ruth Kaplan’s Some Kind of Divine, the artist’s Documentary Media MFA thesis project looks at the experience of religious faith and skepticism. Kaplan’s large-scale photographs draw us in to consider broader questions about theology, documentary ethics, and the role photography plays in the representation of religion. Through iconic black and white photographs, Kaplan presents intense and timeless moments of spiritual surrender. These images, captured using analogue film, are juxtaposed with low-resolution video interviews with a variety of participants that explore personal convictions ranging from strong belief to confident atheism. This show is presented as the first in a series of MFA Thesis exhibitions continuing through June in Ryerson’s Doc/Now Festival.
Curated by Malka Greene.
Ruth Kaplan (b. 1955, Montréal, Canada) is a documentary-based photographer whose work integrates still photographs and video and explores a variety of themes such as the social behaviour of bathers in communal hot springs, congregants participating in rituals of spirituality, and, most recently, refugees living in shelters along the Canada-US border as they await decisions on their pending status. Work from Kaplan’s series Some Kind of Divine (2000–10) and Bathers (1991–2002) can be found in numerous private and corporate collections in Toronto, as well as across Canada, and in the collections of the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto; the Image Centre at Toronto Metropolitan University; the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts; and the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris. Kaplan has exhibited internationally and is represented by Stephen Bulger Gallery. Her editorial work can be found in major Canadian and international publications, she has received numerous grants and awards and is currently an instructor at OCAD University, Toronto Metropolitan University, and University of Toronto Scarborough.
