The architecture of Munich's Marienplatz station. (All photos: Courtesy of Chris M. Forsyth)
“Honestly, I’m just really obsessed with looking at photos of metros,” says Montreal-based photographer Chris Forsyth. The photography student at Montreal’s Dawson College has been documenting the unique interiors of the Canadian city's 68 transit stations, which date to the 1960s, for nearly two years.
A shot inside the Jarry station of the Montreal Metro.
His work, he says, focuses on accentuating the design he finds most people could appreciate if they realized it were there. “[I’m] just trying to bring out that overlooked beauty in the architecture that I find people tend to miss when they’re on their daily commute.”
Inside Namur station in Montreal with a train speeding past.Forsyth recently took his Montreal Metro Project on the road, to European cities—Berlin, Munich, and Stockholm—to explore the hidden architectural splendor of their transit systems.
“I tend to really enjoy juxtaposing the motion that’s inherent to a Metro Station, so in most cases, a train,” he says. “I like to contrast that with the stillness of the architecture.”
LaSalle station in Montreal.
Before booking his plane ticket, Forsyth scouted the most idiosyncratic stations on Pinterest. He says he started a board on the website to collect photos of metro systems around the world, and referred back to it to find what he thought were the most exceptional underground stations to visit.
“I can’t go everywhere. I chose those cities because they’re really the most unique, and compared to Montreal they have a lot to offer that I haven’t seen before.”
The top of a speeding train at Montreal's Assomption station.
Montreal's Charlevoix station.
Berlin's Rathaus Steglitz station.
Two trains zoom past at Munich's Großhadern station.
A lone passenger waits at Jean-Talon station in Montreal.
You can check out the rest of Forsyth’s photography at his website or on his Instagram account.