Roe Ethridge is the kind of photographer who can take on every genre. He produces both portraits and still lifes, pictures of nature and urban photography. Ethridge spent a long time working as a commercial photographer. In his photographs, however, he seems determined to eradicate the difference between commercial and art photography. At Charles Riva you can currently see an ensemble that demonstrates the variety of his oeuvre. In the first room hangs a glossy portrait of a model; opposite is hung a photograph of a dove, a fine example of documentary nature photography. But Ethridge also explores in other directions. “Deli Bag” shows a plastic bag on a wall with some cans of beer on top. The picture could come across as banal, but the composition and the bulk of the bag give it something extra. It appears spontaneous and authentic, unlike “Thanksgiving”, which depicts a model at a festive meal and is an example of staged photography, as if for an advertising shoot. “Thanksgiving” is a thoroughly artificial image, but maybe that nonchalantly photographed plastic bag was every bit as staged. Ethridge often unsettles our perceptions. As an artist he is inspired both by photogra-phy and by painting. In “Marlows and Sons”, for example, a photograph of cold meats, he plays with effects of shadow and light in a way that evokes associations with still lifes by old masters.Even with something as banal as a pear, Ethridge manages to demonstrate his virtuosity. With his almost clas-sical portrait of his wife he achieves a kind of stillness far removed from the glossy “Next Model Sabrina”. His work can sometimes appear superficial because he goes off in so many different directions. But it is not random. Somehow, his pictures remain engraved in your memory. This is actually photography about photography. By constantly changing genre, he offers relevant reflections on the conventions of photography and the authenticity of the photographic image.
Roe Ethridge: Selected Works > 29/9, do/je/Th > za/sa/Sa 13 > 18.00,
Charles Riva Collection, Eendrachtsstraat 21 rue de la Concorde, Brussel/Bruxelles, 02-503.04.98, www.charlesrivacollection.com
Photos:
Left: Roe Ethridge at Charles Riva Collection
Thanksgiving 1984, 2009, C-Print, 109,5 x 88,5 cm
Right: Roe Ethridge at Charles Riva Collection
Next Model Sabrina, 2000, C-Print, ed. 3/5, 76.2 x 61 cm, courtesy of West Collection
Fijn dat je wil reageren. Wie reageert, gaat akkoord met onze huisregels. Hoe reageren via Disqus? Een woordje uitleg.