Dy Jonathan

Born in Windsor Ontario (1980) and living in Vancouver BC, Canada, Jonathan Dy is a self-taught photographer with a background in oil painting. The grit of his factory hometown Windsor, Ontario, and its American counterpart Detroit, uniquely shaped his artistic palette. His first limited edition book, 'I NEED TO SEE YOU' (portraits of artists and musicians) was published in 2013. His second book, 'EYE ON THE GROUND' (focused exclusively on water reflections) was published in 2021. He has been based in Vancouver, British Columbia, since 2004.

"As a painter, I thought traditional photography was an elitist medium, and that photographers were often more focused on camera specs rather than subject matter. After 15 years behind the lens, another perspective developed. Photography is an instrument to measure chaos, and the challenge is being present enough to control it for a moment.
While painting is the epitome of introspection, photography is performative, and how one interacts with the world can be as important as lighting itself.
My aim is to make photos that feel like paintings, rich in color, perplexing and gutteral. Pictures of reflections espouse some of those qualities by creating a duality of interest between the water and the surface it's on.

Over the past few years, I've been fascinated with multiple exposures on 35mm film, shooting over the same roll while carefully calculating the previous/next frame, like layers of a painting. Within this series is another series of 'falling', from rooftops, bridges and planes, a plunge toward peril. The sensation of falling is universal in regard to bodies descending, and stretches into financial markets, love, grief... It is also an intrinsic part of learning skills — from walking, to riding a bike. Whether an act of progression or demise, a lack of control is at the heart of both."