12 November 2020 - 27 March 2021
An exhibition of 55 high definition portraits taken throughout the year. The exhibition is about its subjects and is accompanied by their reflections on 2020. The C-type prints combine 6 high resolution prints to give a very honest, detailed and candied look at the sitters. A book of the exhibition is also for sale, with all proceeds going to Jersey Hospice.
Essentially, the exhibition is a visual study of 'being human'. Each portrait is accompanied by a written reflection by its' subject. The diversity is heartening and the narratives offer a candid depiction of existence - evidence of the commonality of reflection and aspiration, and the transcension of differences.
2020 will always be associated with a global pandemic, but it might also have been remembered for climate change, Brexit, the global movement for racial justice and the US election. The work testifies to both the year's unique importance and the continuum of human experience. It celebrates both the universal and unique, the general and specific, the extraordinary and the mundane, preoffering an intimate yet public account, and convincingly demonstrating that the documentation of history need not be confined to written literature.
Glen Perotte is an international photographer based in Jersey. He has exhibited extensively throughout the UK and US including the Barbican and the Morean Arts Centre, St Petersburg, FL. He has had regular honourable mentions at the International Photography Awards, California and was a finalist at the National Geographic 'World in Focus Awards' in the US.
The 2020 project evolved from a similar technique Glen used to document a community in Florida 10 years ago. The new work reconciles the aesthetic with significant advances in photographic technology and the art of realism. Using a technique that employs multiple exposures and differing focal points, the images are combined to create a new form - hyper realistic portraiture.
Realism is not so much the style of Glen's work, but rather one of its fundamental qualities. The process employed by Glen allowed each subject to engage with the camera whilst he stood to the side and the shot was taken. In so doing he deflected the focus from himself to his subject. His technique has enabled him to capture the images, to record and document the likenesses of each person in truly mesmerising form. It is hard to describe the striking intimacy of the result.
Essentially, the work provides us with an account of humanity. The subject narratives are unscripted and unedited. Many of the narratives reflect on the loss of touch. Tactile sensations being responsible for so much orientation in our world and our well-being. They discuss themes of an emotional, social, cultural and political nature. They describe not only our old life but the life we now perceive, have tasted, reflected on, and the one we may choose with our 2020 vision - literally and metamorphically a powerful lens.
A book of the work will accompany the exhibition, with all proceeds going to Jersey Hospice. 'The yearning for change existed long before the pandemic. We live in a connected world, where acts of collaboration and good intent have shown themselves to be of the greatest value. Perhaps 2020 will end with a commitment to change, and an acceptance that authenticity has moral implications for without such it is mere narcissism. We can use our freedom to benefit not only ourselves but the lives of others.' Emelita Robbins, Chief Executive, Jersey Hospice Care