John Edmonds

A friend recently told me that John Edmonds pictures of african American men in Do-Rags were the first photo's that had the power to completely change his perception. It reminded me of something which Dorothea Lange said, which was, “The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.”

One can speak of Edmonds depictions of queer black masculinity in terms of their content and politics, but none of that would be transmittable if the photos themselves were’t so sensual, strikingly beautiful and full of mystery.

John earned his MFA from Yale in 2016, and since, he has been commissioned by the New Yorker, has had work featured in Aperture and has shown with ltd. Los Angeles. He had a solo show in 2017 called Higher and another which is one right now called Tribe: Act One at their Lower East Side space which runs till May 31.

When I went to meet John at his studio, there was just one print hanging on the white walls called Marcus with the Sacred Heart - a . I really loved that, especially just after learning that the late Peter Hujar would do the same at his house. Only one picture of his on the wall at a time. It obliges one to pay singular attention, to look hard, even for a brief moment.

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