Behind the Cover with Catherine Bernier

For this issue, we asked photographer Catherine Bernier to turn her gaze to the beauty and fragility of relationships — to their idiosyncrasy, complexity, and magic.

Catherine, who is also a creative director and writer, is interested in the ways in which natural and cultural landscapes influence human trajectories. Born in Gaspésie and now living in Nova Scotia, she has a special relationship with the vast open spaces of Eastern Canada, which have shaped her photographic vision.

In the image for the cover of this issue, Catherine has sought to capture the special synergy between Autumn Grant and Jonathan Dododza, a couple based in Kjipuktuk/Halifax, where they are raising two children. They are the founders of Flo Meditation + Wellness, a mindfulness studio that seeks to empower communities by initiating people into mindfulness practice.

As a photographer, Catherine strives to tune in to the ways that non-verbal language—hands in dialogue, a shiver, a shared look—transmits important information about our relationships with ourselves, with others, and with the environment. In these portraits of Autumn and Jonathan, she highlights the subtle communication between intimate partners, as well as with the coastal flora and the salt mist that envelops them.