One Wave

Ned Pratt
March 4 - September 10, 2022

The temptation to work in certain ways is so strong in me that I’m often frustrated. I see more things that I can’t photograph than things that I can photograph. At times, I just go ahead; at other times, I go ahead and try to undermine the composition with carefully placed wires or non-traditional composition elements. Basically, I try to destroy the first impression and rebuild it at the same time into a different kind of beauty—something I feel is my own. -Ned Pratt, 2018 (excerpt from exhibition catalogue).

In a place known for its changing weather, Ned Pratt searches for moments of quiet. The past decade represents a period of dedicated focus on Pratt’s home island of Newfoundland. His works are highly considered compositions that are the result of both chance encounters and patience. He drives familiar roads for days waiting for an image to reveal itself. He will stay at a site for hours, looking for perfection in a single wave as it crashes over a wall.

Ned Pratt (b. 1964) lives on the island of Newfoundland, where he was born and has spent most of his life. He holds a BFA in photography from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design and a BA in art history from Acadia University. His photography has been exhibited at the former Art Gallery of Newfoundland and Labrador, the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, PREFIX Photo, the Scotiabank Contact Photography Festival, and in Oh, Canada at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (touring from 2012–16). He holds the 2017 Large Year Award from Visual Artists Newfoundland and Labrador for Excellence in the Visual Arts. His work has been written about in various publications, including Canadian Art, CBC Arts, Momus, and Mason Journal. Pratt’s photographs are held in major public and corporate collections across Canada, the United States, Europe, and Australia. He is represented by Christina Parker Gallery in St. John’s and Nicholas Metivier Gallery in Toronto.

Image credit: Ned Pratt, New Ferry, 2016. Chromogenic print.

Exhibition organized by The Rooms, St. John’s, NL. Curated by Mireille Eagan.

To experience the exhibition virtually as it appeared at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, click here