joshmorrisonphoto@gmail.com
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Born 2004, Charlotte, NC, USA

My body of work reframes traditionally undervalued or intentionally restricted subjects by American society and the greater Western hegemony. By documenting these asphyxiating social structures, to which I’ve occupied a front seat in their witnessing, I dig in my heels and create critical exposés on cultural and personal taboos. These frames are the honest reflections of my larger narrative, as it’s upheld and dissolved; they are pictures made in celebration and critique of the subject, its author, and a relationship (or a world) where both roles continue to exist. 

A great strength in storytelling is empathy, closely followed by pragmatism, both of which I exercise in my creating, as we cannot meaningfully engage with any medium without also being its highest critic. 

I continue this working philosophy throughout my oeuvre; thus, my work embraces supplemental media: appropriated documents, physical renderings, and writings. My photographic tools reflect this sentiment too- while making images, the methodic nature of the small and medium format film camera systems I employ is deliberate- it is the same attention to intention that’s again reflected in my extensive use of a darkroom, where I hand-develop and print my black and white photography. Yet again, I preach that one tool is not sufficient for every task; I therefore retain the importance of using digital formats. These two systems each have their exploits, to which I push them extensively. There are inherent truths about how and what you choose to depict your message- artists’ tools are unique in that way, and to depict an exploitative world using cameras made with rare-earth minerals, mined by the backs of capital slaves, creates a dichotomy that should not be lost on makers, nor viewers. This hypothetical echoes the intention behind my every action, because no choice is neutral, and neither is the image.