Revealing alter egos

>> Photographer Pierre Dalpé plays
with what is real and what is fake

HIDDEN IDENTITIES: Dalpé

by MATTHEW HAYS

When Pierre Dalpé began his studies in photography at Dawson and Concordia, he says he was consumed with images from the past. In particular, the work of legendary photographers Brassaï and Diane Arbus left a huge impression on him.

And this meant that in his early career, Dalpé was working almost exclusively in black and white. “I find they’re infused with a sense of nostalgia.”

Among Dalpé’s ongoing series is Personae, a collection of creative portraiture in which the photographer shot either real twins or created the illusion of twins by allowing his subject to create an alter ego with which to pose. “For me, the idea of twinning or doubling speaks to the grey zones of my subjects’ identities, and the grey zone of all of our identities. As with our sexuality, we’re often given or shown black or white ends of the spectrum, when the really interesting stuff is usually what’s happening in between.”

Dalpé’s foray into this area has meant that his photography involves a good deal of participation on the part of the subject as well. “I’m usually working with people who have revealed their alter egos to me in one form or another. So then what happens is that I allow my subject to perform an invented scenario, or narrative, within the frame.”

This year, Dalpé will be making the leap into colour photography. “As my work evolves, I’m looking to create images which speak more to the present, as opposed to referencing imagery from the past. I’ve decided I’d like to do the rest of this series in colour. I find, for these purposes, that colour gives more of a sense of realness, a depth of authenticity and currency to an image. I see black and white as somehow two-dimensional, while colour strikes me as more three-dimensional.

“I really like playing with the idea of surface realities, of things not being what they appear to be. What is real and what’s fake? Viewers could easily walk into a gallery and think they are looking at a series of real twins, or sibling performers. When they find out that the portraits may have been manipulated and that they’re looking at a mix of real twins and fake twins and that some of the men are women and vice versa, that’s where I find the series becomes really interesting.

“My hope is that the images will coax the viewer to explore or question their own potentially hidden identities.”