Jere Dewaters

My photographs are observations of everyday locations, objects, and events. I employ a method first described by Walker Evans as documentary style in which the camera not so much records as interprets the visual world. The photographs are fictional-reality, a form of visual commentary in which elements are carefully selected and organized in the attempt to create a compelling image.

It is a form of writing utilizing signs, symbols, color, and form, where conversations are set up between elements within the photograph. Unlike words there is no dictionary for photographs with which to define objects, and meaning often remains ambiguous or elusive while appearing to be obvious. To quote Emily Dickenson, I strive to…”tell all the truth, but tell it slant.” Like her poems the subject matter of my photographs is common things but my hope is they can also reveal much larger issues if we are persistent.