by Valentina Saavedra
An interview with Michael Willems – Toronto Photographer
Show featured: IV – Intravenous
Show: CONTACT Photo Festival
VS: Michael – I understand you’re an established commercial Photographer – why then, tackle such a sensitive and controversial issue such as Heroine/Crack addiction?
MW: download freaky friday dvd Valentina, I have always felt that I have a duty – a duty to try and make society just a little bit better. And I think I can do that through the immense power of photography – through showing people the way our society works. That may get them thinking, I hope, about how they can help. If we all showed a little sympathy, and if we all took a pragmatic approach to people in trouble, whether through mental illness, drug use, alcoholism, or any other problem, imagine how much nicer this world would be. Yes, some may call me naïve, a dreamer – but I prefer naïveté to cynicism. Some may call me a hippie – well, all I can say if that if we all made love all day instead of war, we’d have a much better world too. (And we’d be rather sore).
More seriously, I do not believe that pragmatism is in fact all that dreamy and idealistic. If we make life better for a few people with a drug problem, we are in fact making it better for everyone. This is one area where pragmatism and idealism can really work, and can help make things better.
VS: So then, if you see yourself as a dreamer, while photographing your subjects, do you feel you were able to really get to the bottom of the real issues surrounding addiction?
MW: Well, I certainly understand better than before how complex the problem is. Simple black and white analyses (Good and evil, “they chose this themselves”) are singularly unhelpful. It is frustrating to see how powerless people are against drug addiction. I never judge – “there but for the grace of God go I”, is what I think. I also tried to avoid preaching to the people concerned. What right do I have to tell them how to live?
Instead, I thought I might, by example, show them that there is another way, or at least that some people will listen. If only a small percentage of addicts recover fully, I think we should measure success by time off drugs, not by black and white yes/no metrics. And if only 10% recover, let’s make it 11. Every addict we help is another life with less misery – because let me tell you, drug addiction ends up in misery. In the end, there is no glamour in that world.
VS: Do you feel you have a better understanding of how marginalized society is created by virtue of having witnessed these sometimes shocking events?
MW: Very much so. It was shocking to see how alone drug addicts in the depths of addiction really are. How abandoned. They cannot go to the authorities; medical professionals treat them judgmentally; their families have rejected them, and people on the street just want to steal from them. They are truly alone, and that is very sad. If you want to beat up a girl, go beat up an addict – no-one will punish you. Especially sad since this is mainly of our own making. If we decriminalized drugs, we would have a much better chance of helping.
VS: It’s an interesting perspective I suppose, and I’m sure many would agree and disagree with the issue of decriminalization- which makes me wonder how do you feel your show was received? Do you think it’s brought those who had a chance to see it a better idea of what really happens on our very own streets in Toronto?
MW: Judging by the comments I see in the guestbook and by what I was told by visitors, definitely. This exhibit was an eye-opener to many people. “I am a ball of emotion”, wrote one. I feel that by showing the story behind the story, I have helped, even if ever so slightly. And is that not the ultimate of what a photographer should wish for?
VS: Yes, I think that an artists responsibility is indeed to show the world to others through their eyes and though I understand that the exhibit has a Positive ending, how has this experience jaded you in your view of society?
MK: Well, I am glad to say it has not made me a cynic. It saddened me to see how much of an outcast the drug user is. It surprised me to see how when we can help, we judge and demonise instead. But on the other hand, people like CAMH, the Toronto Public Health needle exchange, and even the Salvation Army do help. The fact that not everyone does, does not mean that no-one does, thank God.
But yes, I was shocked to see how alone addicts are; how going to the police because you have been robbed or beaten is as likely to get you arrested as it is to get you help.
VS: It’s a tragic situation that so many live in on our very streets – and you’ve brought it to the forefront – Do you have any future plans to continue bringing the public talk worthy photojournalism? Or are you content with going back to commercial photo shoots and being ok with this one time experience
MW: I think there is much more to do. Obviously I need to pay the bills, and an exhibit of this size costs money – but you can count on me pursuing other photo journalistic efforts to lift the veil, to show people worlds that are normally hidden to them.
VS: So then -what can we look forward to from Michael Willems – now that the public knows what you’re capable of?
MW: the contract killer dvdrip To tell you the truth, I am debating that right now – but I am also taking a few days to regroup. An exhibit is an enormous amount of work – getting over 2,000 people to see this and raising some money for CAMH, was not easy. In a way it is a bit of a downer, now that it is over – so there’s no better solution than to start on my next long-term project.
As soon as I get started on it, I’ll let you know what it is. And I promise that whatever it is, I will try to do it sensitively and honestly. No, we will not make society great all at once. But if we all help, we can make it a little better every day. Essentially, I am a great optimist. And I believe that photography can help show worlds we do not know, uncomfortable worlds, and can hence help people think of solutions.
Michael Willems – Bio
Michael Willems is an award-winning Canadian photographer who was born in the Netherlands and raised both there and in the UK. After obtaining his engineering degree at London University, he has traveled to, lived in, and taken his cameras to over thirty countries on five continents. Travel photography is his specialty, and he is the author of the popular workshop, “An Introduction to Travel Photography”.
Michael has been a photographer for almost three decades. Apart from travel, he shoots a wide variety of subjects including stock photos, sports club portraits, models, industrial, and commercial. His work has been used in commercial publications, on web sites, in portfolios, and in newspapers including the Toronto Sun.
As well as a photographer and traveler, Michael is an inspirational public speaker and teacher who teaches a wide range of technical and creative photography subjects at the Henrys School of Imaging. Michael shoots with Canon professional equipment, but he teaches people basic and advanced use of a wide range of camera equipment including Canon, Nikon, Sony, and many others.
Michael’s real passion is documentary photography. Especially photography that can open eyes and that, through greater understanding, can make the world a slightly better place. He has just completed his successful exhibit, “IV – Intravenous” (see www.mvw.net/IV.html), which was held in support of CAMH, and was covered extensively on CBC Radio One.