elliott jerome brown jr. | ig: @elliottjeromebrownjr | website: under construction
(he/him) was born and raised in Baldwin, NY, a suburb on Long Island. He is a photographer based in New York and has made quite a name for himself in the imaging world. When prompted with the question of his introduction to photography, Brown Jr. teetered between remembering if he’d wanted a camera to pursue the medium, or simply for the justification of taking better photos of his friends as a means of navigating attraction; he chose the latter. Elliott recognized how the camera could be used to traverse through his understandings of intimacy with people. Later on, flourishing into a contemplative production of photographs and sculptural works that illuminate intricate encounters that harbor a sense of familiarity.
Brown Jr. recently opened a show at Nicelle Beauchene Gallery in New York on January 26th of this year. The images depicted are presented in a multi-dimensional exhibition which gives viewers the opportunity to be witness to an experience. Elliott’s images offer us an invitation to look deeply– out of curiosity, and through the influence of suggested relatability implied by corporeal presence. He presents the work in a way that eclipses your sight, instructing us to request of ourselves the means to adopt new modalities of viewing, creating distance between the viewer and the image at play.
It is in this mode of separation that develops a delay in your interpretation of the images and instead, continuously alters your access to the image and the scenes involved. Brown Jr.’s photographs tow the line between documentary and theater. Signaling a quiet familiarity that drives a specific desire individuals hold for knowing and in lieu, re-negotiating access.
“[I am] using photography as a way to re-present myself as opposed to represent.
– thinking about theory and theater as ways to recitate…me.
“Because of those roots in privacy, I am always thinking about distance as a tool in how I develop an image. It’s a way for me to have deep feelings and keep them for the people that they need to be negotiated with.
“I wanted something that was more dimensional and furthermore– animated. that asked the body to do something else.”
Season Three of PhotoLounge Presents is curated by Rebecca Arthur.
PLP is a curated series where guest curators turn the lens on emerging photographers and provide a glimpse of their oeuvre and what inspires them. This season will continue to be unveiled twice a month on our Gallery Blog and Instagram over the coming weeks.