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Hidden Niagara by Kathy Toth

Feb 19, 2012 by César Couto    No Comments    Posted under: Photography

It’s kind of a personal “dejavu” for myself, today we’re featuring the “Hidden Niagara” photo series by the Toronto photographer Kathy Toth. Hidden cultures, social and economic change and the seemingly banal are all themes that dominate Kathy’s work. Kathy is a multidisciplinary artist, a largely self-taught photographer with a background in formal fine art painting. Kathy treats her photographic subject matter as a form of social commentary about the changes she sees around her and the marginalization she sees of art, communities and the changing face of industry and communities today. The complete series are available here and you can check more of Kathy’s work at her website or Flickr.

All three of the power stations on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls (Ontario) are buildings of significant heritage which were being ‘re-mediated’ for reuse in 2006. Toronto Power Company (TPC) is now gutted, however Rankine, or Canada Niagara as it is better known is intact but no longer generating and is slowly deteriorating by the ravages of the horseshoe falls. Rankine and TPC were independent (private) power stations at the turn of the century. Both were built in a regal manner so that they would not intrude upon the landscaped parks the area is known for. This is in stark contrast to how power stations are built today with obtrusive designs lacking character with no attention paid to the surrounding community and basic design principles. Significant effort was taken to ‘hide’ the industrial nature of these buildings so that they ‘fit’ in with the landscape, which ironically is as manicured as any golf course. Documenting these two power stations in particular led me to other power stations elsewhere which in turn lead me out to corridors to look for related infrastructure.

Submitted by César Couto

Founder of Paranoias, I was born in São Miguel, the biggest island from Azores. I'm a freelancer in the areas of web development and web design and I'm passionate about design, technology and photography. You can follow me at Facebook or Google+ but I normally post in Portuguese.

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