Wayne Simpson - Resilient: The Portraiture of Wayne Simpson

CONTENTS

FOREWORD

BY DAVE BROSHA

Wayne Simpson is, simply put, a beautiful enigma.

A towering gentle giant, a sometimes awkward magician, hes at times one of the most serious humans I know and in other moments one of the most delightfully goofy, fun-loving people on the planet. Hes as at home staring intently over his glasses at the in-progress edit of his latest portrait, so focused on his task at hand that you could bounce a frisbee off his furrowed brow (that he, of course, would barely notice), as he is cracking a self-deprecating joke to a group of workshop participants and letting his million-watt smile shine.

Wayne is an incredible artist (more on that later), but hes many things and to call him simply an artist only tells a portion of the story. Hes a father to two incredible girls, his pride and unabashed love for them shining through when youre lucky enough to steal a visit to his home in the beautiful and quaint Elora, Ontario, or in the gentle words and photographs of them that you happen upon from afar. Hes a husband to his rock and beauty, Candice, and watching their playful banter over a meal in their kitchen reminds you of all thats good in the world. Hes a stay-at-home dad in a world in which thats (unfortunately) a rarity, and hes a man who is a melting pot of culture and interests. His work background includes stints as diverse as graphic design, arborist, cook, and log home builder, and he brings a strong blend of southern Ontario mixed European and Indigenous ancestry his mother is from Aamjiwnaang First Nation, his father a Scots-Irish hybrid into his approach on life. Wayne is focused, hes pragmatic, hes caring, and hes a perfectionist. He is playful, he is studious, and he is, at times, tortured. In short, hes human but a human with the rare capacity for greatness that many of us can only dream of.

Photographers tend to lump themselves into genres of photography: landscape photographer, portrait photographer, architectural photographer. The problem with these designations is that they seem, at times, very clinical. Very cold. Very cut-and-dried. You take photos of mountains and trees, therefore youre a landscape photographer. You take photographs of buildings, therefore youre an architectural photographer. You take photographs of people, therefore you are a portrait photographer. Wayne is a portrait photographer, certainly, but he doesnt simply take photographs of people far from it. Anyone can press a button and capture an image of a face; one only needs to point a smartphone toward a fellow human to accomplish this. But does that image that appears on a screen represent who a person really is? Does it capture the magic of the individual human soul? Wayne uses a seemingly cold technical tool a digital camera as a base medium to capture the essence of the human spirit. He converts rays of light, captured by a digital sensor and translated, somehow, into bits and bytes, into joy and intrigue and resonance. He communicates the resilience of humankind. He captures joy and anger and hope and despair and strength and determination. He offers insights into the very being of humanity and conjures up slices of story interjected with the magic of the people he encounters.

Story.

That word is what differentiates, to me, a simple snapshot of a human from a portrait. A well-executed portrait offers up setting, character and plot. A well-executed portrait brings the viewer in and leaves them wanting more. A well-executed portrait makes you feel you know a portion of a subjects story: if not the full novel, perhaps a chapter, or a few profound paragraphs that you feel like referencing later a visual quote. A great portrait is a slice in time, and its history in the making. A well-executed portrait is, simply put, art.

Few people understand the notion of story in portraiture as well and can create art as complex from a seemingly simple mix of light, expression, setting, position and perspective as Wayne Simpson. Wayne has studied the work of the masters of the craft before him and has carved out his own unique contribution to the field in a way that wont just have an impact in present time, but for generations to come. Just as the images of portrait masters like Philippe Halsman and Yousuf Karsh resonated far beyond their own living time on Earth, Waynes portraits will matter and last much longer than his own life and career. Waynes body of work is his gift to the world, and as with many artists not fully recognized in their own lifetimes, I firmly believe the importance of Waynes work will only continue to grow long after he presses the shutter for the final time (hopefully not for decades and decades to come).

So what is this collection? What is this book? What is Resilient all about? At its very basic, this is a collection of portraits Waynes first published collection and that reason alone makes it notable. This is a collection of many miles travelled, many connections made and many (sometimes simple, sometime elegant and sometimes frustrating) moments spent working through a process of discovery with numerous subjects on the part of Wayne to try to capture something unique, something special something incredible. This is a collection of images that represent some of the most powerful of Waynes works over the past decade, and showcases images that have not only made the many admirers of his work pause, fascinated by their elegance and power, but have also made his own subjects delight and have made his own subjects feel. Theres no greater feeling as a photographer than when your subject turns to you upon seeing a photograph of themselves and says, simply, thats me. Thats the true me.

These photographs are representations of his subjects true selves. They are showcases of the struggles theyve had in life, and the resilience theyve shown in overcoming and experiencing challenge, adversity, danger, life and love. This collection showcases the best of the human experience, often by diving into some of the most challenging aspects of life for life is never easy but its in the determination to live it that we see some of its greatest beauty.

Wayne has captured beauty here, even in some of the most gritty of circumstances. He has taken an approach to these photographs that only a gentle giant with a heart the size of a galaxy can with tenderness, with care and with genuine interest and the desire to dive deeper and to look further into a persons being than almost any other portrait artist. Wayne genuinely cares about his subjects, and that care shines through with each frame he shares. Most photographers meet with a subject briefly, capture, and move on. Wayne takes a genuine interest in the people he photographs and often follows up with them, stays connected with them, and they become fixtures in his own life. Their stories often intertwine with his own, and as a result, the people who follow and are friends with Wayne see how his heart and life are genuinely impacted by the people he showcases. Whats beautiful too is that the people Wayne showcases are often subjects who are overlooked not only by other photographers but often by society. Not all, of course, but Wayne has a capacity for looking beyond the forward-facing scars of many individuals and trying to peek beyond the walls they build. In the process, he humanizes people. He gives them a voice. He showcases their light and thats a thing of rare beauty.