Large ships called lakers enter Toronto Harbour on a regular basis. The main destination for these ships is the Redpath Sugar Refinery – one of the last remaining industries within Toronto Harbour – to deliver raw sugar. These ships, crewed by seamen from around the world, arrive and unload their cargo in a hurried manner, working around the clock. The ships are docked, unloaded and back out to sea in a matter of days. This unloading of raw goods is one of the last vestiges of the old industrial Port of Toronto. Times have changed and seeing these large ships up close is something unique to this harbour.
For this exhibition, artist Johan Hallberg-Campbell was given the opportunity to stay on one of these ships and witness the unloading of its cargo. For four days and nights, he followed different crew members all over the ship, photographing their different tasks. Johan was able to capture the busy activities of a ship in port, and also portraits of the crew. He gives us a behind-the-scenes view of these large lakers that, aside from the people who work and live on these ships, very few others see.
