Images of Vimy Ridge

Peter MacCallum, Allegorical Figure Representing "Peace" Atop the West Pylon of the Allward Monument, 2005. silver print

The annual Contact Toronto Photography Festival runs throughout the month of May in more than 175 galleries all over the city featuring the work of over 500 photographers. As a part of this festival, the Peak Gallery is featuring a series of images produced by Peter MacCallum of the Vimy Ridge Monument. The monument, which commemorates the 11,285 Canadian soldiers who died in World War I whose remains were never found, was designed by Toronto sculptor Walter Allward and was completed in 1936. It is now what MacCallum calls "the object of a significant engagement in the perpetual war against time and forgetting," as it undergoes significant restoration and reinforcement in preparation of the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge on April 9th, 2007. Based on what I have seen online, these photographs offer a unique vision of Vimy Ridge as it undergoes restoration as they successfully convey the power and majesty of the monument as well as the beauty of the site.

Peter MacCallum, Sheep at Pasture on the Preserved Battlefield, 2005. Image Size: 14" X 14" silver print

"The shell pocked battlefield is still off limits to visitors because of unexploded munitions lying below its surface. But as one of my photos shows, sheep are allowed to graze in the shell holes. (No sheep has ever been lost in an explosion). In addition to the practical function they perform as efficient grass mowers, the sheep have an obvious symbolic role. The Commonwealth infantry soldiers of the Great War, who wore standard issue sheepskin coats, were at times characterized collectively as trusting sheep, and their officers as protective or incompetent shepherds" - Peter MacCallum

For more stunning images of Vimy Ridge be sure to visit the exhibition David Milne Watercolours: Painting towards the Light at the AGO (until May 21)

David B. Milne, "The Twins" Crater, Vimy Ridge, 28 June 1919, watercolour over graphite on wove paper, 35.3 x 50.6 cm, National Gallery of Canada. Image from CyberMuse.