Possible Histories
June 9- July 9, 2005
Peter Sramek

Peter Sramek , 109 Niagra Street, 2005

The threads of the past intrigue me—but it is not dates and achievements that hold my attention. Memories pile one onto the next and I wonder at the chance events that led to the present moment. Is writing history the act of disentangling the causalities and reconciling unruly memories into generalities?

Six locations were considered for the original site of Photo 44 (later called Gallery 44). They are presented here with the underlying thought of, "Where would we be if we had rented one of the other locations?" Absurd as a document, the photographs present visual evidence of a sort, while the text inscribes a commentary. Possible Histories is not about writing a history of Gallery 44, but rather a meditation on the impossibility of defining a history from the details. The difficulty lies in selecting what to tell. Though often haphazard and mundane, the details are important. I often wonder what might have happened if various events had been different. Each of us who has participated in the legacy of Gallery 44 has stories and versions of stories. One could drown in pages of detail or sink into nostalgia. Maybe history is what others later discover and decide is important to write down.

Peter Sramek was Financial Coordinator of Gallery 44 for 15 years. He proposed the idea for Photo44 to Simon Glass while on an escalator at Canada’s first national photography conference. Twenty-five years later, he looks back at Gallery 44’s beginnings. A Professor of Photography at the Ontario College of Art & Design, he has exhibited across Canada, in the United States and in Europe. His work encompasses photography, digital imaging, hand-made book works and video installation.