The most dominant shift in photography over the last twenty-five years has been the focusing on subjectivity and interiority. Conventionally photographs were thought of as statements of fact. Thy psyche, or mindset of the photographer was invisible. The subject photographed provided almost complete content.
Many of the photographs that now garner critical and aesthetic attention address that which is felt by the photographer. The photographs have an emotional weight and can support multiple interpretations. These photographs can try to seduce us, manipulate us, or sometimes shock us. Reality can become fictionalized. Our dreams, hopes and fears can be given free expression through the physicality of the photograph.
The exhibition, A Time Remembered: Photography As Personal Narrative examines the works of contemporary artists who communicate their personal histories through the medium of photography. Whether they are the “Chambre d’Amour” of Bernard Faucon, in which rooms become pregnant with poetic meaning, or the intimate pictures of Martine Fougeron which document her sons’ passage through teenage years, the camera suggests a presence larger than the photographs. In John Dugdale’s photographs time is transcended to produce pictures that lyrically hearken back to photography’s pictorial foundations. In Kimiko Yoshida’s self-portraits, she becomes a potential bride as she travels through myriad times and cultures. Her identity is fluid and ever changing.
These are just a few examples from this exhibition. All of the photographers externalize or mediate their lives through the camera. They provide a body of work that acts as an emotive dialogue. Hopefully, this exhibition will intrigue you with photography’s potential as both an expressive and dynamic media. The photographers have all taken unique visual journeys of self-discovery.
