(1946, Vancouver Canadá)
Jeff Wall He is a Canadian photographer born in Vancouver (Canada) in 1946, the city where he lives and works, he is one of the key figures on the artistic scene of his city for years. In 2002 he was awarded the prestigious Hasselblad Prize.
His work has helped define the so-called photoconceptualism. Her photographs are often carefully planned like a scene in a movie, with full control of all the details. His compositions are always well thought out, or borrowed, from classic painters like Édouard Manet.
Many of his images are large (usually 2X2 meters) transparencies placed in light boxes; According to the photographer, this idea came to him during a bus trip between Spain and London after seeing a large advertisement mounted on a light box at a bus stop. The subjects covered in his photographs are social and political, such as urban violence, racism, poverty, as well as gender and class conflicts.
A famous image of Jeff Wall is Mimic from 1982. It turns out to be a 198cm by 229cm color transparency. In it we see three people, a couple and a man, walking towards the camera on one side of the sidewalk. The street belongs to a suburb in an American city, a residential area mixed with small industries. The couple, on the right in the image, is white, and the man on the left is of Asian origin. The woman is wearing red shorts and a white top showing her belly button. Her boyfriend wears a vest, with a full beard and tousled hair; They give the impression of being working class. The Asian man is elegantly dressed in a gray shirt; gives the impression of being middle class. The groom makes a racist gesture as he turns his face out to glance askance at the Asian man. The image has been taken at the right moment when the gesture occurs and reveals social tension. However, this scene has been meticulously constructed just like a cinematic image.
Some of his Photos
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