You are (not) here

We live in a superficial, virtual time. We collect “friends” on social media who would not be friends in real life. We “like” things and places we’ve never seen or experienced. Virtual has replaced the physical.

When we “check in” on social media we tell our world where we are and, to a certain extent, what we are doing. We post photos of and comments about our lives, presenting a curated image of who and where we are.

Photographs are a reduction of life. Our 360-degree, multi-sensory experience is reduced to a single two-dimensional frame. Through this process, I show you what I choose to show you.

This multimedia series mixes the virtual with the physical, giving the superficiality of our online lives a concrete yet ethereal presence. I take you to where I was, to experience what I experienced. Using a combination of photography, ambient noise, geocoding, and Google Earth, this work takes you to the exact location where I was so you, too, can be there.

Just like what I allow you to see of my life on social media, you are limited to see only what I allow you to see. Like our virtual and superficial “friends” on social media, you are not really there with me.

You are (not) here.

You are (not) here

2018-

Please inquire about sizes, formats and editions as well as site-specific installations

That which separates us 1

Image of a jet contrail over a gun show sign

That which separates us 2

Image of a jet contrail bisecting the image vertically

That which separates us 3

Image of a jet contrail bisecting the image horizontally

That which separates us 4

Jet contrail arcing diagonally through the image

That which separates us 5

Portion of a jet contrail highlighted against clouds

That which separates us 6

Jet contrail high above an anti-abortion sign

That which separates us 7

Abstract jet contrail bisecting the image vertically

That which separates us 8

Jet contrail bisecting the image vertically

That which separates us 9

Two jet contrails forming an X in the middle of the image

That which separates us 10

Jet contrail far above a Jesus sign

That which separates us 11

Multiple jet contrails vertical in the image, one next to the other

That which separates us 12

Two jet contrails sweeping through the image in a slow arc

That which separates us 13

Three contrails fading off into the distance

That which separates us 14

Multiple jet contrails abstract against the clouds looking like waves on a beach

That which separates us 15

Two contrails intersecting while dissipating at the same time

That which separates us 16

Jet contrail in the lower third of the image highlighted against the clouds behind

That which separates us 17

Jet contrail bisecting the image vertically

That which separates us 18

Abstract image of a jet contrail bisecting the image vertically

That which separates us 19

Jet contrail bisecting the image vertically

That which separates us 20

That which separates us 21

That which separates us 22

That which separates us 23

Wide, dissipating jet contrail bisecting the image vertically while fading off into the distance

That which separates us 24

Small, distant contrail beginning to bisect the image vertically

That which separates us 25

Small distant contrail bisecting a portion of the image vertically

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Dennis Russell Hodges

Conceptual Photography

You are (not) here

You are (not) here​

You are (not) here