Joel K presents a collection of portraits of Canadian civil servants; their features rendered unintelligible by the camera and the creative use of light without the digital manipulation of photoshop.
Viewers are asked to stare into the face of the faceless. Our attention is drawn to something which has been deliberately obscured, and we are asked to contemplate the invisible: who are these people and what do they do? What is their contribution to Canadian society? It is inherent to the very nature of the public service to seek no public recognition for their work, as opposed to their political counterparts, but does that necessarily imply no recognition at all?
Joel K provokes these questions and leaves them with us to ponder. The series seeks to draw these out and to foster a renewed debate on the role of the public servant in the 21st century.
