First inspired by the surreal setting of British Columbia, Toni Hafkenscheid blurs the lines between fact and fiction by exploring various typically awe-inspiring landscapes which he describes as “bizarre and almost fake” in his exhibition HO. Named after the scale of model train sets, his photographs which are taken from real life vistas, resemble the make-believe world constructed through model trains. Using a shallow depth of field to make some parts of the image soft and others in focus, and modifying the colours to look like old postcards, Hafkenscheid’s images recall a certain American dream, an idealized view of an immediate future typical of the 1950’s.

Born in the Netherlands and receiving his Master of Fine Arts degree in Photography from Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam, Toni Hafkenscheid currently resides in Toronto and teaches at Ontario School of Art and Design. He has had extensive solo and group exhibitions nationally and internationally at galleries including Robert Birch Gallery, Toronto; Dazibao Gallery, Montreal; Napier University, Edinburgh; and Capi Lux, Amsterdam.

Image: Train #2, 2002.