American photographer Shane Lavalette is best known for his commercial work or for his documentary work, which is more personal. The work I'm interested is a found set of images that he published.
Lavalette was in a junkyard looking at mangled wrecks of cars when he came across the set of photographs. The set was dozens of polaroid photographs of the owner of the car, usually taken while he was fishing and showing what he'd caught. Beneath each image was text that usually gave away the place, the date and something about the fish.
It's an interesting set and particularly when considering it from an identity angle. The polaroids give an impression of a lonely man who didn't have anyone to share the images with, yet at the same time they suggest a sense that he enjoyedhis life and was proud of the fish he caught. It's that interesting line between being lonely but being content with how you spend your days, possibly something most people can relate to.
At the same time, you start to wonder who is behind the lens. The owner surely couldn't have had a tripod and timer with him and suddenly you start to wonder who he shared this life with. It's great that one simple set of polaroids can tell you so much but conceal just enough to bug you with curiosity.
Something else i really like is how the writing is sometimes worn or smudged and unreadable. It suggests that they've been used, looked at, possibly ruined by a drink or a leak. It suggests a life has been lived with these photos rather than pristine images that don't tell you a lot.
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