The Craftsman on Industrial Park

In a time where trades workers are vanishing from the job market and the need for manufacturers in the world is ever growing, a small shop on Industrial Park Road in Port Perry Ontario keeps the spirit alive with metal fabrication, all done by a young man named Austin. Austin, being 23 years old, is the sole owner of the shop in this series, Austins Rod Shop. Here he works on projects from fixing rust on old vehicles to handcrafting metal signs to sell to the average person as decoration. The whole business venture begun in March of 2019 when Austin impulse bought a CNC metal fabrication machine. Inspired by the likes of Louie Palu and Latoya Ruby Frazier, The Craftsman on Industrial Park is a glimpse into the physical and manual labour that goes into the creation of a product, as well as the little bits of every day life scenarios that come along with it. The body of work also explores a variety of textures and oddities that come along with a business owner and his own personal quirks. This body of work has been created as a photo documentary series to allow a visual into the rough and intensive work that goes into owning a metal fabrication shop, as well as being the one performing the work.

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