Djami Diallo, a wheelchair racer.Brenda Spielmann/The Globe and Mail
Art has always been eager to celebrate the strength, grace and beauty of athleticism, from ancient Roman statues of discus throwers to posters of Michael Jordan soaring to the basket, ball in hand.
With the Paralympic Games beginning on Aug. 28 in Paris, Toronto-based photographer Brenda Spielmann has created a series of images portraying the dynamism of para-athletes and questioning why they are so often excluded from aesthetic representation.
Called Luminaries, the project features images of 17 Canadian para-athletes and Paralympians with hand embroidered metallic thread on photographic paper.
The Globe and Mail’s Dave McGinn spoke to Ms. Spielmann about the project, challenging ableist attitudes and seeing the beauty of para-athletes.
Robert Hampson, a blind swimmer.Brenda Spielmann/The Globe and Mail
There’s a very close relationship between athletics and aesthetics – it’s beautiful to look at athletes. And yet that isn’t something we have many opportunities to experience when it comes to disabled athletes.
That was the idea, I wanted to bring beauty to it. So much of my work has always been about breaking down the preconceived notions of disability.
How have you seen those preconceived notions influence portrayals of disabled athletes?
It’s always like they’re superheroes – how inspirational, how brave of them that they can go and do this. The ableist attitude is very much like that. It’s either pity, feeling sorry, or seeing them immediately as inspirational as opposed to people first. You know, as athletes first. They have more obstacles than an Olympian, but they’re not brave or courageous. They’re doing their thing, and they have incredible discipline and perseverance, but they’re people. I wanted to challenge this ablelist attitude where they have to be inspirational or pitied as opposed to just beautiful and regular.
Wheelchair racer Jessica Frotten, left, and Ilana Dupont.Brenda Spielmann/The Globe and Mail
Where did the idea for the project come from?
Having a son with a disability is what got me into the whole community of people with disabilities. When my son started getting into sports I started meeting all these incredible people and basically hanging out with them and seeing how fit they are and full of energy. I was actually pretty envious. Then, during the pandemic I started researching embroidering onto photographs. I thought, this is great because it’s going to take the story a little further.
Curtis Thom, a wheelchair racer and coach.Brenda Spielmann/The Globe and Mail
What sports does your son compete in?
He started in wheelchair racing, and then he had tried wheelchair basketball and wheelchair tennis. Now he’s into archery.
How did you get the athletes on board for the project?
There was a training camp for Canadian athletes – they would all go to Florida to train because of the weather. My son was going, and I was going with him to help. I just asked them, hey, I want a photo. And they were so keen, you know, to be seen and be part of it. They were totally into it.
Tracy Schmitt, a multisport para-athlete.Brenda Spielmann/The Globe and Mail
Why did you choose Luminaries as the title?
Luminaries are people of prominence or brilliant achievement. It also means a body that gives light. So, to me, that’s exactly it. They are experts in their fields of overcoming all these barriers. And that’s why I chose metallic thread instead of embroidering with regular thread, so that it illuminates. A big part of it is about visibility and, not to be corny, but it really has to do with shedding light.
The embroidery adds a wonderful sense of motion to each image. Technique-wise, how did you think about each athlete and what you were trying to express with the embroidery?
The whole idea of this photo intervention, of embroidering, is really about creating three-dimensionality and expanding the story beyond just the photograph. I would think of getting to the movement of whatever sports they perform. It involved a lot of research to create that movement and invite the viewer to experience it. So the whole idea was that I would use specific features, like emotions within the photo, and entice the public to the physicality.
Are you following any athletes going into these Paralympic Games?
It seems that a lot of them are no longer competing because this project started some time ago. I’m still in contact with some of them, but they’re not going to the Paralympics any more.
Where do you hope the project goes from here?
I would like to keep working on it and be commissioned to photograph other athletes. I’d love to have an exhibition, because the whole thing is the tangibility. When you see the print, the image is completely different than when you see it on a monitor.
Isaiah Christophe, a wheelchair racer.Brenda Spielmann/The Globe and Mail
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