Dexter McLean's highly effective pictures examines the neglected
Dexter McLean's profound images bring out perspectives and stories that are underrepresented in much of the photo and media landscape. His Aspire Gym photo series features portraits of athletes on a wheelchair rugby team who visit the gym to exercise and socialize.
"I've tried to give a perspective that society has never seen. Some disabled athletes may be famous now, but the Paralympics only happen every few years. The average disabled person in training is completely invisible," McLean told CR. "I am opening new doors to what the media normally shows through my circumstances as a disabled Jamaican in London."
When he was a few months old, McLean was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and had a difficult time growing up in Jamaica in the early 1990s. His elementary school was not equipped for disabled students and he remembers how many times he had to walk on his hands and knees because there were no wheelchairs or crutches for him.
McLean's family moved to the UK from Jamaica when he was nine, and it was another two years before he was accepted into a specialized school for disabled students. The daily challenges he faced have shaped his creative practice today, particularly in his documentation of People with Disabilities, which tries to add a nuance to the subject that is lacking in most mainstream media.
From the Aspire Gym series. All pictures by Dexter McLean
A few years after moving to the UK, McLean was introduced to the world of photography. “When I was 13 years old, my aunt bought me my first camera. I was obsessed with the different angles and frames, ”he recalls. "Then I did my GCSE in photography, the only student at my disabled school to have done this."
When researching the work of photographers during his BTEC, McLean noticed that the canon lacked images of disabled people. "The only person I found was Diane Arbus," he says. "I realized that there was a niche for representing people with disabilities, and changing the way people are perceived with disabilities is very important to me as I suffer from cerebral palsy."
McLean recently earned his MA in Photography from Middlesex University. While much of his work takes place in the studio, the course pushed him to take photos in the field. "It really helped me taking photos outside, working with a flash gun, and working with subjects to get the images I wanted," he says. "It helped me realize that I don't have to be afraid, I can do what I want."
In another of his projects, he photographed the people and places of Olympic Gardens, a small town where he and his family lived on the outskirts of Kingston, Jamaica. Near the seaport, the suburb is home to friends and family, some of whom were photographed for the series. The project shows straightforward yet eye-catching portraits inspired by Dutch photographer Dana Lixenberg. "Your Imperial Courts project was like a Bible to me," he says. “It made me want to do this project because the concept is inspired by a similar situation that I come from in Jamaica. There is little work and people try to live their life without many options. I wanted to show this reality. "
According to McLean, work can be challenging when people don't understand how he speaks and projects can take longer. However, living with a disability "doesn't limit what I can do," he says. "When you see my photos, you don't see any disability or the stigma associated with disability. You see a photographer trying to make it into the art world."
"I find that I can bring in a different perspective," he says. However, he does not believe that it is essential for a photographer to have parallel experiences with his subjects – “as long as they capture an idea. I always take photos of projects that are important to me. Projects take a long time to complete due to the limitations I have due to my disability. I only devote my time to things that are really important to me. I don't know what the future holds for me, but I'll always try to work on projects that I'm really passionate about. "
His goal is to bring together the topics dealt with in his existing work for a future project: “I want to continue to photograph communities that are important to me for the time being. My hope for my next project is to go back to Jamaica and take portraits of Jamaicans with disabilities and disabled communities there. That was my dream project for the last year. This is a side of the world that is never shown. I want to build on the unique perspective I have … I want to work to change how the media perceives disabled people. "
dextermclean.com; @dextermcleanphotography