For the last two years I have been working on a series that I call 'areaphotography'. The subject matter I gravitate toward is unspectacular, andthe images are a mischievous reaction to 'epic' photography. In areaphotography there is no 'decisive moment': what is captured is a commarather than an exclamation point.
This series is an exploration of the ephemeral, the peripheral. Questionsare not answered; the story is implied but never spelled out. The images arenot symbolic but merely present. The ambivalence I feel regarding the'monumental' or 'significant' in art creates a tension between meaning andmeaninglessness that is expressed in this work.
I work in found situations and with objects already present in the scene.Others may see fit to 'de-ordinarize' their imagery, engineer it to producea surreal or unfamiliar effect. I reject this convention.
The aesthetic behind area photography is ancient. It is in the Japanese teaceremony, found poetry, flawed pottery. It is in the overlooked and therejected. The periphery is moved to the center.
Area photography simply says, 'What about this?'
BH
It is wisdom that sees the ordinary with amazement.' Lao Tzu