CONTACT Gallery

January 29 - March 13, 2015

Opening Reception Thursday January 29, 6 9pm, remarks at 7pm

H: Tuesday Friday 11am 5pm, Saturday 12 5pm

The CONTACT Gallery is pleased to present LA LONGUE NUIT DE MGANTIC, an exhibition by Montreal-based photographer Michel Huneault.

LA LONGUE NUIT DE MGANTIC is the culmination of the documentary photographers year-long project visiting Lac-Mgantic after Canadas deadliest train disaster in almost 150 years. In the middle of the night on July 6, 2013 a train filled with crude oil derailed in the small Quebec town creating an explosion that destroyed much of the downtown area, instantly killing 47 people.

The disaster has since been in the forefront of current national debates regarding energy transportation, safety and the environment. However, Huneaults interest in this story is human and intimate, with a focus on the community and the aftershock. His experience in international development and academic research on disaster and trauma, both personal and collective, has given him an insightful perspective.

Before devoting himself full time to photography in 2008, Michel Huneault worked in the international development field, a profession that took him to over twenty countries, including one full year in Kandahar. He holds a MA in Latin American Studies from the University of California, Berkeley, where he was a Rotary World Peace Fellow, researching on the role of collective memory in large scale traumatic recovery. At Berkeley, he was a student and teaching assistant of Magnum photographer Gilles Peress, and afterwards held an apprenticeship position with him in New York. Currently, his practice focuses on development related issues, on personal and collective traumas, and complex geographies.

Huneault is the recipient of the 2014 Portfolio Reviews Exhibition Award. Chosen by an international jury, this award recognizes outstanding work presented at CONTACTs annual Reviews. The award is supported by the Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Image Works, and Vistek, and Huneaults project has been generously funded by the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Qubec.

LA LONGUE NUIT DE MGANTIC will travel to Lac-Mgantic after its run at the CONTACT Gallery.