Barrie Jones (Canadian Photographer)

Barrie Jones, RCA (born October 23, 1950) is a Canadian photographer and art educator based in Vancouver, British Columbia. He was a photography instructor in the department of Art History, Visual Art and Theory at the University of British Columbia.
Early life and background
Jones was born in Ottawa, Ontario, and currently lives and works in Vancouver. He received his BFA from the University of British Columbia, where he studied with Canadian photographer Fred Herzog, and was peer to Vancouver School artists Marian Penner Bancroft, Ian Wallace, Jeff Wall, and Rodney Graham.
Jones received his BFA grin the University of British Columbia, and his MFA from York University, and began teaching at the university.
Artistic practice
Jones's practice involves analogue and digital photography and video, focusing on portraits and urban environments as sites of complex identities. Long associated with the Vancouver School of Photography and Vancouver photo-conceptualism, Jones has created and exhibited large-scale staged tableaux, which he describes as "negotiated documentaries." Throughout his practice, Jones has complicated the relationship between human identity and the artist-photographer’s role by emphasizing that his portraits are not solely his creations but the product of collaborative negotiations with his subjects.
Jones's photographic work centres on human figures and the complexities of human identity. Through his exploration of uniforms—ranging from service attire to firefighting, athletic, and military regalia—Jones investigates how these garments both restrict individuality and confer a sense of belonging, economic stability, and social recognition. Engaged with what Jones calls "social studies," his work draws attention from the relationship between personal identity and collective affiliation while reflecting on the resilience, vulnerability, and adaptability of human experiences.
Awards
In 2017, Jones was inducted into the Royal Canadian Academy of Art. In 2025, upon being nominated by the RCA, he was awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal for his significant contribution to the arts.
Selected exhibitions
* Barrie Jones: UNIFORMED: Urban Heroes to McJobs. Richmond Art Gallery, April 11 - May 9, 2002, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
* Barrie Jones: Portraits Y/Z. Lights Out Gallery, Capture Photography Festival Selected Exhibition, April 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
* Barrie Jones: look don't look. Kelowna Art Gallery, July 2022, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
* Barrie Jones: Urban Wild. West Vancouver Art Museum, March 2025, West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Collections
Jones has an extensive exhibition record and his work is in the collections of a number of major Canadian galleries, including the National Gallery of Canada where 23 of his works are in the permanent collection, seven works in the Art Gallery of Windsor, the British Columbia Government Collection, the York University Art Collection, Vancouver Art Gallery, and the Richmond Art Gallery.

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