Photography as a witness of life
Shanghai Center of Photography (SCoP) is honored to present Amercian photographer Alec Soth’s first solo exhibition “The Space Between Us” in China. Alec Soth is described by Mick Brown of Britain’s Telegraph newspaper as “one of greatest living photographers of America’s social and geographical landscape”. Since his debut series Sleeping by the Mississippi, 2004, created an immediate stir the same year of its release at the Whitney Biennial, Alec Soth’s works have been presented in museums and galleries around the world. Soth was invited to join Magnum Photos in 2006, and through his own imprint Little Brown Mushroom, as well as in collaboration with others, has published over 25 photo books to date.
‘Soth has made a "photographic career out of finding chemistry with strangers" and photographs "loners and dreamers".’
- New York Times art critic Hilarie M. Sheets
‘His work focuses on "off-beat, hauntingly banal images of modern America."’
- Guardian art critic Hannah Booth
‘Soth is the greatest living photographer of America’s social and geographical landscape.’
- Telegraph writer Mick Brown
The Familiar Stranger
A unique aspect of Soth's work lies in his exploration of how to photograph "people". Besides uses photography as a medium to record an encounter, Soth pays particular attention to observing the little people in the big era, particularly the mundane nature of their social life, creating a delicate chemical reaction between himslef and the subject. Soth enjoys walking into a person’s life, whether to step into their living space, or shoot some detail of their eonvironment, or by using depth of field and focal points to direct the viewers’ attention. At all times, Soth is carefully examining the space between himself and the subject.
Soth uses his process to show people the importance of digging into life, demonstrating that by capturing intimate scenes photography can express as strong a world view as by photographing grand public events. As a patient observer, he spends a lot of time with each of his subjects. The works often present a sense of poetry beyond the still picture. This aura of intimacy and solitude is everywhere in Soth's works, and is a unifying feature of his visual language. Giving himself up to the mood of a moment, he enables viewers to see themselves through the distinctly unconventional portraits that result.
Soth first caught attention in 2004 with a series of portraits of people living in small-town America, a project he titled “Sleeping by the Mississippi”. This was followed by a succession of projects exploring topics from ‘love’ to ‘(in)visibility’ to ‘escape’, each within the context of mid-western American life. For reasons of his unique perspective, Soth has been described as one of greatest photographers of America’s social and geographical landscape at work today.
Photography as the bridge between Soth and the world
“The Space Between Us” is not a fully retrospective exhibition, but an art practice including the revelation of Soth’s rethink about himself and photography. “The mark of a great photographer isn’t taking one amazing photo,” he says, “but the ability to assemble an amazing collection”. “The Space Between Us” includes representative works from each of Soth’s major series – “Perfect Strangers”, “Looking for Love”, “Sleeping by the Mississippi”, “Niagara”, “Broken Manual”, “Songbook” and latest “I Know How Furiously Your Heart Is Beating”, allowing viewers to follow along with his emotional and physical journeys, and the creative path he has taken through different periods of his work.
Soth describes himself as an introverted, shy person. Photography provides him a chance to approach strangers, and becomes a bridge for him to connect the world. As the focus of the exhibition, Soth’s latest project, “I Know How Furiously Your Heart is Beating”, was produced after a year-long hiatus in which Soth pondered the burning question “What can a photograph really tell us about anything?” Or, “How is it possible to make meaningful photographs in a world where half a million images are taken every second?” His musing is revealed here in 44 extraordinary images from Soth’s career so far. This exhibition “The Space Between Us” is also conceived to encourage us to look at the normal life that surrounds us and find the value in even the most humble and ordinary of lives.
“The Space Between Us” opens at Shanghai Center of Photography (SCoP) on 1 August 2020. This is the first solo exhibition in China for Alec Soth. We look forward to showing you this group of extraordinary works！
Go to "Discover" > "Top Stories" > "Wow"