In 2019 at an opening at Zen Foto Gallery in Tokyo, Andrew Ellis, a young man from New Jersey, invited me to be part of Glister, a collection of “unseen” photographs he was planning to publish.
I said sure, and later sent him some scans of a few prints I hadn’t done anything with yet. It wasn’t until I got my draft copy in the mail that I realized what the full lineup was- Ed Templeton, Mark Steinmetz, JH Engstrom, and Christopher Anderson, and myself. Wow. So, after seeing both the lineup and the quality of the work inside I asked Andrew if I could send a few more pictures over. Good work makes you want to do better.
My contribution is a series called Six for Five- a title that reflects my belief that the inherent generosity of the medium can give you more than you put in, if you let it. My statement puts it better but it’s the pictures that say it clearest.
Now, I normally edit my work alone- so it was really interesting to see how someone else might sequence my stuff. I am extremely satisfied with they way Andrew made my pictures flow- there are several connections I hadn’t made before. See? Photography keeps on giving.
Glister is a large (10 x 10in / 25.4 x 25.4cm) 130 page book with with sixty-eight color and black and white photographs. There’s also a interview with Ed Templeton inside. Limited to a run of 200, copies are still available here.
Publications like Glister are important- they evince a genuine interest in collaboration, printed matter, and a love of photography. It’s an honor and pleasure to have been a part of it.