Context

My first job was at Kodak and one of the perks of the business was that they provided free film. Film used to be expensive and it still is, but now most people have digital cameras. Away from the constraints of cost, this free film benefit became my first foray into the creative realm of photography.



It was during this time that I realized the power of images. Minute slices of time. A sampling of life without some context. I took many, many random series of photo's; scatology, fat people, clouds, and signs. Many signs. Over 4,000 pictures of signs from all over the world. I started to gain a passion for pictures of signs. I was fascinated by them as they conveyed a completely different meaning when taken out of context.



Take for instance the images above. White and Black. Taken only within the context of the images, the meaning conjures up racism and even potentially hatred. The problem with this is that the signs hung above piles of beans. Black bean, white beans and even red beans, which I chose not to photograph

Context.