Sublevels is an ongoing series first initiated in 2007 as a way to better understand the sewer system of Montreal in terms of how it functions today and how it has evolved since its inception in 1830. Over time the work has served as a catalyst for a broader understanding of my urban environment and the conditions under which this system was implemented. Much in the same way a network of roads or railway lines can be used to trace a city's growth over the course of a century or more, so too can its sewers, from the covering over of watercourses to the development of communities above.
While this is admittedly an indirect and occasionally risky approach to urban knowledge, it's one that I've found to be the most rewarding if only because I never quite know what to expect. This element of surprise comes not only from the physical characteristics of the spaces, but also the photographs themselves. Because these spaces exist in complete darkness, I am required to define them using my own lighting devices over the course of long-exposures. This technique often yields results that I might not have anticipated.
In addition, I want to present what many might consider to be a repulsive and alien environment as something that is potentially beautiful and engaging. For all their filthiness, sewers have a certain functional purity in that they are - and always will be - designed to be conduits for human waste. To be able to re-interpret them in ways other than this intended purpose is something that I've found to be irresistible.
The single exposure photographs in this series are created using handheld lighting devices, most often with myself appearing in the scene as a silhouetted figure to give a sense of scale. Placing myself in the frame also helps reaffirm my position that these do not have to be places that exist outside the reach of our urban experiences and that there is as much to be discovered below street level as there is above.
