Extensive travel is integral to the role of a photojournalist, and throughout his brilliant career, John de Visser has enjoyed unique opportunities in his quest to document people and places. Raised with an appreciation of the visual arts, de Visser became a photographer in the early 1950s after arriving in Toronto from his native Holland. In 1958, he received an Inuit sculpture as an award for outstanding photojournalism.

This first sculpture sparked his interest; seldom, however, is the vision of a collector so aided by opportunity. His first trip to the Arctic, in 1965, resulted from an extensive commission to photograph Inuit artists. Subsequently, he documented the Arctic travels of Canadian politicians and dignitaries, such as the Governor General and Prince Charles. He also travelled throughout Siberia with author Farley Mowat. Each of these trips allowed him to explore and to carefully select the works illustrated here. These sculptures are varied in scale, subject matter and media, but they share an essence; regional traits and styles are united by an overall aesthetic.

Photography is synonymous with the ability to capture a vision and share it with others. Similarly, each of these sculptures marks John de Visser’s vision; each one tells a story, holds a memory and communicates a time. In this way, de Visser’s collection of art, like his photographs, bridges physical and temporal zones as it engages new faces and voices with those of the past.