Josh Hite

In residence: 2017, 2018, 2019

Josh is interested in the current conditions of the built and lived environment, the real estate market, and the political landscape in Vancouver. He is curious about how the word condominium can engender heated debates around homelessness, affordability, gentrification, foreign investment, and vacancy rates (even private art collections). Over the last few years at Coppermoss, Josh has begun to explore the physical connections between the Sechelt gravel mine site, and the explosion of condominium building in Vancouver. This has lead to the development of a long-term project. Belts Tug Drum and Hook will trace the route of raw materials from one of the largest aggregate mines in North America (in Sechelt) to their resting place in a condominium in Vancouver. The project takes advantage of existing movement inherent in the machines and vehicles that transport the materials by attaching small cameras to them. By taking a primarily formal approach, and ethnographic in spirit, Josh leaves space for broad engagement that allows the viewer to enter into the work on her own terms, regardless of political or ethical leanings.

Josh Hite’s video and photo work is primarily concerned with human movement through local spaces. He is inspired by the potential for the creation of subjective pathways and the myriad results that occur when movers decidedly confront obstacles. Recent work focuses on the technological alteration of action and memory relative to the uploading of backyard behavior onto YouTube. He has collaborated on site-specific projects, dance and sound performances, and work in public space. Josh has a BA in Philosophy, an MFA in Visual Art and teaches photography and video at UBC, Emily Carr University of Art + Design and Arts Umbrella in Vancouver.