Donald Weber (photographer)

Donald Weber (born 1973) is a Canadian photographer who focuses on the effects of world power.[1] He is a member of VII Photo Agency. Weber's books include Bastard Eden, Our Chernobyl (2008), Interrogations (2011), Barricade: The EuroMaidan Revolt (with Arthur Bondar, 2015) and War Sand (2017).

Weber has had solo exhibitions at Phodar Foundation, Pleven, Bulgaria; Pikto Gallery, Toronto, Canada; and Alice Austen House, New York City. He has received a Guggenheim Fellowship,[2] a World Press Photo Award,[3] the Lange-Taylor Prize,[4] a Sony World Photography Award[5] and the Duke and Duchess of York Prize in Photography.[6]

Life and work

Weber was born in 1973 in Toronto, Ontario.

He joined VII Network in 2008 and became a full member of VII Photo Agency in 2013.[7]

Weber focuses on the effects of world power,[1] how state power functions the world over and how those in power use theatre to coerce their subjects; he seeks to uncover the unspoken collaboration between the parties with his photography.[8]

He worked in Ukraine and Russia for seven years, making numerous visits beginning in 2005. In 2010 and 2011 for his book Interrogations he investigated the power relationship between police and criminals by photographing people being interrogated by Ukrainian police and subjected to both psychological and physical abuse in order to extract information. Weber has spoken about how these techniques are not specific to Ukraine but are standard police practice and used elsewhere, for example in Canada.[9][10][11] In The Photobook: A History, Vol. 3, Martin Parr and Gerry Badger praised Interrogations, writing "Weber's vision is clear-eyed and unflinching in its sober directness, which makes it both effective and discomforting to look at."[12]

Together with Christopher Nunn and Kateryna Radchenko, Weber has created a series of newspaper-format publications called The Information Front that collates images by Ukrainian photographers and photojournalists of the war in Ukraine.[13][14]

Publications
  • Bastard Eden, Our Chernobyl. Portland, Oregon: Photolucida, 2008. ISBN 978-1934334058. With text by Larry Frolick.
  • Interrogations. Amsterdam: Schilt, 2011. ISBN 978-90-5330-759-5. With an epilogue comprising a short story by Frolick, "The State is me and you", a short essay by Weber and Frolick, "Confessions of an Invisible Man", and an "Afterthought" by Weber.
  • Barricade: The EuroMaidan Revolt. Amsterdam: Schilt, 2015. ISBN 978-9053308417. By Weber and Arthur Bondar. With text by Frolick, "Pursued by the Thing: God, History & Ukraine".
  • War Sand. Self-published, 2017. With text by Frolick, Kevin Robbie and Weber. English, French and German.

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions
  • 2007: Phodar Photography Biennial, Phodar Foundation, Pleven, Bulgaria.[15]
  • 2009: The Drunken Bride, Russia Unveiled, Pikto Gallery, Toronto, Canada, 29 April – 31 May 2009.[16]
  • 2009: Russian Archive, Alice Austen House, New York City.[17]

Group exhibitions and exhibitions with others
  • 2013: Interrogations, White Cloth Gallery, Leeds, England, 21 February – 2 April 2013.[18] With Maciej Dakowicz.
  • 2014: Shift: Ukraine in crisis, Third Floor Gallery, Cardiff, Wales, 3 May – 29 June 2014. Photographs by Alexander Chekmenev, Maxim Dondyuk, Corentin Fohlen, Louisa Gouliamaki, Brendan Hoffman, Tom Jamieson, Marco Kesseler, Anastasia Taylor-Lind, Donald Weber and Emine Ziyatdinova.[19][20]

Awards

References
  1. "Donald Weber: Interrogations, White Cloth Gallery, Leeds". Aesthetica. 22 February 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  2. "Donald Weber". John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Archived from the original on 3 June 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  3. "2005, Donald Weber, Honorable mention, Daily Life". World Press Photo. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  4. "2006 Winners: Larry Frolick and Donald Weber". Duke University. Archived from the original on 3 June 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  5. "Winners of Sony World Photography awards 2012 – in pictures". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  6. "Donald Weber wins Duke and Duchess of York Prize in Photography from the Canada Council for the Arts". Canada Council. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  7. Laurent, Olivier (21 May 2014). "VII Photo rises to challenges of changing photographic landscape with dynamic new agency model". British Journal of Photography. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  8. "Bio Archived 9 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine", Donald Weber. Accessed 9 December 2014.
  9. "Photography: Interrogations, by Donald Weber". The Independent. 15 January 2012. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  10. "Donald Weber's Brutal Ukrainian Interrogation Photos". Vice. 18 April 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  11. Tharoor, Ishaan (13 February 2012). "A Gun to Your Head: Inside Post-Soviet Interrogation Rooms". Time. Archived from the original on 15 February 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  12. Martin Parr; Gerry Badger (2014). The Photobook: A History, Volume III. London: Phaidon. p. 137. ISBN 978-0-7148-6677-2.
  13. Colberg, Jörg. "The Information Front ensures the war and atrocities taking place in Ukraine are not forgotten". British Journal of Photography. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  14. "How Ukrainian photographers captured a year of conflict". Financial Times. 17 February 2023. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  15. "Results from the competition of Phodar Biennial'07". Phodar Biennial. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  16. "Fifty best bets at Contact 2009: Donald Weber". Toronto Life. 4 May 2009. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  17. "Donald Weber". LensCulture. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  18. "Donald Weber: Interrogations". White Cloth Gallery. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  19. "Saturday May 3 – Sunday June 29, 2014 Archived 10 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine", Third Floor Gallery. Accessed 6 July 2014.
  20. "Exhibitions: Shift: Ukraine in Crisis", VII Photo Agency. 29 September 2014.
  21. "Mila Teshaieva Wins Critical Mass Book Award Archived 20 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine", Photo District News. Accessed 9 December 2014.
  22. "Curriculum Vitae Archived 5 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine", Donald Weber. Accessed 9 December 2014.
  23. "War is Good*", Magnum Foundation. Accessed 8 December 2014.
  24. "2012, Portraits, 1st prize stories, Donald Weber". World Press Photo. Archived from the original on 13 December 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  25. "Finalists". Scotiabank. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  26. Whyte, Murray (4 March 2014). "Scotiabank Photography Award finalists: Graham, Weber, Ruwedel". Toronto Star. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
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