The blur offers a similar anonymity to the residents of Harlem in Ming Smith’s nighttime photos from her “Invisible Man” series (1988-91).
Where Smith uses long exposure to create her effect, Sondra Perry, in her video loop, “Double Quadruple Etcetera Etcetera I & II” (2013) relies on a tool in Photoshop that removes unwanted elements to partially obscure the bodies of two dancers.
John Edmonds overexposes his film to create solarized prints with velvety surfaces in which his Black male subjects take refuge in the shadows.
The hoodie, not surprisingly, shows up in many forms.
Kevin Beasley casts it in resin in “ … ain’t it?” (2014), while Edmonds depicts young men who are doubly obscured — hoods up and seen from the back — in his large-scale photographs from 2018.
Persons:
Smith, Sondra Perry, Joiri Minaya, John Edmonds overexposes, Kevin Beasley, Edmonds, Carrie Mae Weems, Trayvon Martin
Locations:
Harlem, Ming