There isn't much reason to complicate this photograph.
A man in a striped shirt and dark beanie stands in the open space between the trees. His head tilts slightly and his eyes close as he breaks into a broad smile.
The photograph came from the Wilmot residents project, but what holds it together for me is something very immediate: the pleasure of one person responding to another person with a camera.
Portrait photography can become preoccupied with what a face is supposed to reveal. Here I don't think the expression needs interpreting. The smile is enough. The trees, the soft background and the square frame simply give it space.
Artwork Information
Artist: Paul Foley
Collection: The Human Condition
Title: The Smile, Wilmot #4580
Artwork: #4580
Location: Wilmot, Western Sydney, NSW, Australia
Subject: Resident from the Wilmot residents series
Medium: Black-and-white photograph
Process: Full frame digital
Format: Square
Genre: Documentary portraiture
Themes: Expression, humour, presence, portraiture, community
Edition: Limited edition of 5 prints plus up to 2 Artist Proofs
Print: Archival fine art pigment print on cotton rag paper
Certificate: Signed Certificate of Authenticity
There isn't much reason to complicate this photograph.
A man in a striped shirt and dark beanie stands in the open space between the trees. His head tilts slightly and his eyes close as he breaks into a broad smile.
The photograph came from the Wilmot residents project, but what holds it together for me is something very immediate: the pleasure of one person responding to another person with a camera.
Portrait photography can become preoccupied with what a face is supposed to reveal. Here I don't think the expression needs interpreting. The smile is enough. The trees, the soft background and the square frame simply give it space.
Artwork Information
Artist: Paul Foley
Collection: The Human Condition
Title: The Smile, Wilmot #4580
Artwork: #4580
Location: Wilmot, Western Sydney, NSW, Australia
Subject: Resident from the Wilmot residents series
Medium: Black-and-white photograph
Process: Full frame digital
Format: Square
Genre: Documentary portraiture
Themes: Expression, humour, presence, portraiture, community
Edition: Limited edition of 5 prints plus up to 2 Artist Proofs
Print: Archival fine art pigment print on cotton rag paper
Certificate: Signed Certificate of Authenticity
