Tommy Keith (b. 1993) is a photographer and filmmaker currently based in Toronto, Ontario. He recently received a BFA in Film Production from Concordia University where he received the Muse Entertainment Enterprises Scholarship in 2015. His photographs have been featured by many online publications such as Dazed & Confused and Fotografia Magazine. He was part of Of The Afternoon’s group exhibition in the Darnley Gallery, London, UK. Tommy is currently working on expanding this project into a larger survey of these areas and people.
Don’t Forget to Wave
By spending the majority of his childhood in small towns, Tommy has witnessed their inevitable development, as more and more vacationers are willing to travel farther away from the city to reach their secluded getaway. With new highways being built at a rapid pace to accommodate for these vacationers, it has resulted in the surrounding towns becoming either completely forgotten or intensely urbanized. As a response to this phenomenon, this project documents the houses, residents, and surrounding landscape of Restoule, ON, which has yet to be directly affected by such changes.
Restoule has a population of less than 400 people and it looks as if it has been frozen in time for decades. This is because it is categorized as an unorganized township, which means that the town has no governing authority to tell the residents how to preserve their community. These types of townships are becoming more and more scarce as they experience the polarizing effects of urbanization. This project aims to celebrate this particular town because although it has been largely untouched, it will likely not last forever.
To view more of their work please visit their website.