artist biography
Stéphane Ippersiel is an Ottawa-based photographer and yoga teacher. Before focusing on his passions, he spent thirty years managing communications teams for the Government of Canada.
Stéphane’s been creating portraits of yogis since 2012 with the aims of uncovering and presenting a bit of the yogi’s spirit, celebrating the beauty of the human body in motion, and advocating for yoga as a lifelong wellness modality. BIPOC Yogis of Ottawa, a project he co-founded, is at the intersection of two of his passions: photography and yoga.
His portraiture style harkens back to mid-20th century commercial photography, with the use of flash being a prominent feature. Stéphane’s influences include Annie Leibovitz, Herb Ritts, Richard Avedon, Mark Seliger and Vincent Peters.
Though portraits are his main interest, his lens is also trained on public art installations and architecture. Through-lines in his body of work are the shapes, tension and grace of both the human form and human-created structures.
He has long been fascinated by environmental art, awestruck by the incongruous juxtaposition of over-sized pieces showing up in seemingly random places. “There’s something poetic about these massive, unflinching structures—sometimes brutal and jagged, made from skyscraper materials—resting unassumingly in serene, peaceful, pastoral settings.”
He has been studying photography at the School of the Photographic Arts: Ottawa since 2018; mentored by its Director of Education, Michael Tardioli, since 2022.
exhibitions
2024
5.8-5.21 / Amplification / Toronto / Altern Studio group exhibition, CONTACT Photography Festival
4.11-5.2 / BIPOC Yogis of Ottawa / Gatineau / Solo exhibition, Aura Studio Yoga
3.22-4-14 / Selected works / Ottawa / APEX Juried Exhibition, SPAO
3.21-4.11 / BIPOC Yogis of Ottawa / Arnprior / Solo exhibition, Union 108
3.7-3.21 / BIPOC Yogis of Ottawa / Ottawa / Solo exhibition, Yogatown Barrhaven
2.23-3.10 / Sometimes Brutal / Ottawa / SPAO group exhibition
2.22-3.7 / BIPOC Yogis of Ottawa / Ottawa / Solo exhibition, Yogatown Preston
2.8-2.22 / BIPOC Yogis of Ottawa / Ottawa / Solo exhibition, Yogatown Stittsville
1.23-2.6 / BIPOC Yogis of Ottawa / Ottawa / Solo exhibition, MODO Yoga Orleans
2023
11.21-12.12 / BIPOC Yogis of Ottawa / Ottawa / Solo exhibition, Pure Yoga Centretown
10.30-11.20 / BIPOC Yogis of Ottawa / Ottawa / Solo exhibition, Pure Yoga Westboro
10.8-10.29 / BIPOC Yogis of Ottawa / Ottawa / Solo exhibition, PranaShanti Yoga Centre
3.31-4-15 / Selected works / Ottawa / APEX Juried Exhibition, SPAO
3.24-3.26 / Selected works / Ottawa / Altern Studio inaugural group exhibition
books
2024 - BIPOC Yogis of Ottawa
stephaneippersielphoto@gmail.com
1.819.208.6255
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