Making CONTACT with Michael Wolf

The Scotiabank Contact Photography Festival draws to a close at the end of the month, and we would be most remiss if we didn't direct you to the amazingly cinematic works by German photographer Michael Wolf at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA). Wolf's haunting images of commuters on the notoriusly crowded Tokyo subway system are part of a group show called Collective Identity with works by Phillipe Chancel, Cheryl Dunn, Barry Frydlender, Baudoin Mouanda, Jon Rafman and Bill Sullivan.

The exhibition, which runs until June 3rd, "explores the ways we perform and articulate our identity in public, and the tensions that arise from the occupation of public space." Anyone who has ever navigated a crowded city (and those who haven't) will instantly recognize the tired commuters depicted in "Tokyo Compression," Wolf's contribution to the group show.

A former photojournalist and one-time Toronto resident (he attended high school at North Toronto), Wolf captures the split second when we take a fleeting look at our fellow citizens. While these are moments that we generally forget, in his images, they are caught and held in time.

[images, "Tokyo Compression" by Michael Wolf courtesy MOCCA]