Art photographer Dan Jackson’s work is familiar to the members of Teamsters Local 213 although they may not realize it. His work has been on the cover of many editions of Today’s Teamsters magazine and in the feature articles about the work they do around the province. In addition to getting a behind the scenes look at a cement factory, he’s taken photos at Sun-Rype in Kelowna, and Canadian Linen and Euroline Windows in the Lower Mainland.
“It’s so cool and a privilege to get into these environments,” said Jackson. “Many people don’t have that opportunity. It’s amazing what happens in these spaces. “I wanted to re-present it in a new way and change people’s perceptions. Yes, it’s still photography and pixels but it can help people reconsider what ‘beauty’ and ‘photography’ are. I want to elevate to an art form things that are overlooked.”
On one Teamster site he was struck by the fact that every piece of sheet metal, every gear and every bolt was made by human beings and manufactured for specific purposes. “We’re nothing without these people who construct and work with these things. That was exotic to me. I think it’s beautiful that we’re both manufacturing things.”
Then he caught a glimpse of a splash of colour on a gangway and wondered what if every line and every plane had its own colour. That led to hundreds of hours of work trying to determine what colours work well side by side, in a grouping and as a whole.
You can see more of Jackson’s story driven pictures of subjects at work and play at his website.
