Publicity: Dannielle Bowman
In this regular column for CR, Art Director Gem Fletcher highlights the work of new photographers on the rise. Here she looks at the work of Dannielle Bowman
Dannielle Bowman's first project Here, Now, a critique of what is remembered and what is not, appeals to people who are excluded from the great historical tales we know. She photographed monuments, ancient artifacts, and landscapes of historical importance in the United States to reveal the tension between past and present, material and object, source and result, and people and land. “I want to inspire people to be more critical of the world they live in, how it is presented to them and what the agenda is,” she says.
Here, Now is a kind of blueprint for Bowman's practice. As a photographer, she delves deeply into her subjects, each image nuanced, each composition strictly, combining a rich visual language with intellectual curiosities.
Bowman grew up in Los Angeles and the city continues to be a key influencer. "It is a city that is run exclusively by image makers and offers the opportunity to be part of it," she says. The cinema was the focus of her childhood: "I had a mother who didn't take me to church on Sundays, but to the cinema. Sometimes we saw two films in one day and watched everything from unsuspecting to the Kunsthaus."
Above and above: From the What Had Happened series