Hometown glory

 

«This work is about the things you hold on to when you can’t let go». Is there anything we can do about the past? The places we belong to. The places that we didn’t choose. Justin Visnesky has an answer that is revealed through his photography. In a quiet and simple way he freezes his surrounding to visualize feelings. A simplicity and immediacy of expression also detectable in the words that tell us about his photography: «Taking the ordinary and making it something more, something for the keeping». Explicit as the few lines that describe us his hometown series “Jimmy Stewart doesn’t live here anymore”: «Jimmy Stewart was born and raised in Indiana, Pennsylvania; a small town boy made good. I spent my formative years in the same place. Growing up in a small town is tough. Growing up in a small town so stuck in the past it can’t seem to move forward is even tougher. When I was young I longed for city life. Now I live in the city and long for that small town life. Every time I go back it feels like nothing has changed – and for the most part, not much has. Jimmy’s statue still greets town folk in front of the courthouse, streets still bear his name, and his namesake museum still shows his films every weekend».

 

 

Photo:

© Courtesy of Justin Visnesky

www.justinvisnesky.com

(click on the image at right for more pictures)