Alum to present photography showcase later this year.
Lose yourself in captured emotions at an upcoming photography showcase.
George Brown alumni and photographer Carmine Groe will present his new exhibition at the annual Contact Photography Festival at George Brown Polytechnic, Daniels campus.
Titled I Am, the exhibition is the culmination of 15-years of photographing strangers on the street. It will feature 28 black and white portraits and one large colour photograph which opens the series. A limited-edition handmade zine will also be gifted to the first 20 attendees.
Groe studied web design at George Brown and spent time working in advertising and commercial photography, has always been interested in art.
“When I was very young, I was into the arts, always drawing, and particularly portraits. Like people, there’s something that I always gravitated towards faces,” he said. “And so then I got myself a real arts education where I studied all of the arts, including painting, sculpture and all of the fine arts, including the commercial arts and so on. But I gravitated towards photography it’s good to sink your feet into so many different forms and then to realize what you truly want to do. And that became, sort of my passion throughout life, is to continue to pursue photography.”
Starting his career as a commercial portrait photographer who worked with athletes, Groe transitioned to long-term projects and photo books.
The I Am project is built on street photography created between 2007 and 2022. Having shot thousands of encounters and images, he narrowed the exhibition down to just under 30 portraits which he notes is less about photography and more about human connection.
Each image isolates the human face, removing distracting backgrounds and allowing viewers to focus entirely on expression and presence.The exhibition opens with a single colour photograph before transitioning into black and white portraits. Groe notes the colour image acts as a transition into the exhibit.
“The colour photograph is kind of like the threshold, if you will. It’s the image that takes you out of the real world, which is more colour… When I look at the real world, I look at full colour, I see what I might see in most movies. Or in a colour photograph, you look at it, it’s closer to reality, but that will break into 28 black and white photographs, which are more distanced from reality. And what a black and white photograph does versus a colour photograph is it forces you to focus on the form of the images, the content more so that, because the colour can be a distraction, but the colour is a threshold in my in my exhibition, that takes you into those 28 black and white photographs,” he said.
He adds that removing colour also removes distraction and forces viewers to engage more deeply with form, emotion, and similarity.
The portraits are displayed in small sequences, encouraging visitors to move slowly and consider both the differences and shared humanity among the subjects.
The theme of connection is central to the exhibition. Groe describes street photography as a gateway not just to making images, but to meeting strangers and experiencing brief but meaningful moments of intimacy.
“There’s this real, I believe there’s like this initial intimacy that happens when you meet another person, and I think that’s what drives me.”
Bringing the exhibition to George Brown holds special meaning for Groe. As an alumni and former design student, he views the college as the ideal space for creative dialogue.
“There is no better place to do this,” Groe said of the campus gallery. “It’s a wonderful space.”
In addition to showcasing the exhibition, Groe hopes to connect directly with students.
The I Am exhibition will run from May. 4 to 15 at the Daniels campus (3 Lower Jarvis St.) during the Contact Photography Festival.
Students who love photography are encouraged to immerse themselves in the exhibition, experience powerful street portraiture up close, and connect with an industry professional.
