Biography

Phi Doan (they/them) is a Chinese-Vietnamese photographer based in Kitchener, Ontario which is located on the Haldimand Tract. 

They studied radio broadcasting with the hopes of making a living listening to music and telling jokes all day. Instead, they ended up working as a radio journalist, waking up in the early hours reporting on important stories affecting the community (and sometimes traffic). They later co-founded an online news publication called insideWaterloo, focusing on the stories of racialized and marginalized people in Waterloo Region. Despite being short-lived, the publication gave voice to people who would usually have their stories flattened in traditional media.

After a brief stint as an urban farmer, they found themselves working on the other side of journalism as a constituency assistant at a government office. The complex nature of the job in trying to address deep systemic issues would lead to them to burn out after a few months. They would leave the job to focus on his mental health.

Photography became their medium of leisure to de-stress and find himself. Relatively new to the scene, Phi is still very much in the process of discovering their voice, but also finding a way to make this whole thing work out somehow. 

You can find them on Instagram at @phi_is_photography.

Artist Statement

I view my work in the same way I view my artist statement: a living, breathing document open to change as I develop my voice. My background in journalism also has me thinking about how to capture and create images that can address the issues we are facing as a society. 

I am attracted to candid street photography and capturing those behind-the-scenes moments that most people don’t get to see. I also want to create a safe space where queer and racialized people can feel seen on their own terms. We are living in a digital age that is ruled by what social media companies and algorithms want to show us. Increasingly, that means reflecting society’s biases. I’d rather add to the canon of images that challenges those notions and allows us to live our lives outside of the white male, heteronormative gaze.

I also hope to see my work not limited to being showcased in photobooks and fancy art galleries. Art has the potential to transform and connect people, but I worry when pieces become tokenized and kept away from the community they are trying to represent. I want to find unique ways of presenting the work that brings it closer to the community.