Ed Kashi at VII Gallery in Brooklyn

All images by Ed Kashi

© Ed Kashi

Editing through my documentary work I have always considered it an anomaly when a singular subject makes eye contact with the lens and I still find the picture effective. When it does work, it can be a very strong connection with the viewer, but many times it doesn't.


Ed Kashi's new exhibition Eye Contact at VII Gallery in Brooklyn is a collection of images that he had always edited out because of his aversion to the photographers presence.

© Ed Kashi

© Ed Kashi

As taken from the VII website:
"Eye Contact presents a collection of photographs normally rejected during the editing process because someone in the frame is looking straight into the camera. Since my goal is to erase the intangible line between documenter and documentee, I feel that direct eye contact ruins otherwise successful images. Representing a look back at my work through this unusual prism, Eye Contact also demonstrates how the public reacts to photographers. As a photojournalist, I have seen my presence elicit a myriad of emotions and actions including distrust, hostility, paranoia, fear, vanity, disgust, curiosity, and violence. Eye Contact puts the viewer, in a visceral way, into the shoes of the photographer who is constantly prodding and pushing against a world of reactions, much of the time a world of defenses. Maybe eye contact makes the viewer ask more questions.In theatre they talk about “breaking the fourth wall”, that invisible line separating the actors from the audience. Eye Contact is not an idle intellectual exercise but a visceral response to what I experience as a photographer. Having worked throughout in the world for over 30 years, often feeling like an intruder repeatedly encountering harsh, suspicious stares, I find myself wondering, am I that threatening or is it just my camera?"

Don't miss the gallery show of Eye Contact at:
VII Gallery
28 Jay Street
Brooklyn,
NY
The show runs from September 1st. to October 7th.

© Ed Kashi

© Ed Kashi

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