Using his unique multi-paneled compositions comprised of single images, photographer David Hilliard explores themes of American masculinity, sexuality, identity, family and intimacy both bravely and without apology.
At once romantic and straightforward, Hilliard captures the everyday to craft narratives that communicate more like short stories or films that are economical yet richly layered. Looking in on the spaces where we live; the relationships we construct; and the glances that happen, the photographs elevate to a place beyond mere documentary and delve into universal longings and fears. These are big stories, the stories we tell ourselves to understand, make sense and survive.
The fact that his characters (or subjects) are often family members and friends is a fearless choice that is somehow immediately known without ever being explained to the viewer. It is this vulnerable honesty and significant intimacy that mark the work and make it so compelling.
From the artist:
For years I have been actively documenting my life and the lives of those around me, recording events and attempting to create order in a sometimes chaotic world. While my photographs focus on the personal, the familiar and the simply ordinary, the work strikes a balance between autobiography and fiction. Within the photographs physical distance is often manipulated to represent emotional distance. The casual glances people share can take on a deeper significance, and what initially appears subjective and intimate is quite often a commentary on the larger contours of life.
For me, the construction of panoramic photographs, comprised of various single images, acts as a visual language. Focal planes shift, panel by panel. This sequencing of photographs and shifting of focal planes allows me the luxury of guiding the viewer across the photograph, directing their eye; an effect which could not be achieved through a single image.
I continually aspire to represent the spaces we inhabit, relationships we create, and the objects with which we surround ourselves. I hope the messages the photographs deliver speak to the personal as well as the universal experience.
(via zopapo-blog)
