we like small things v.5

Filter Photo is pleased to present we like small things v.5, our annual small works exhibition, juried by Jan Christian Bernabe. Join us on September 16th during the 2022 Filter Photo Festival, to celebrate the work of the 29 artists included in this exhibition, alongside A More Fluid Atmosphere by Rose Marie Cromwell.

A selection from the juror's statement:

"Many who submitted photographs placed the pandemic as the top reason that shook them to find outlets for creative expression; it made them think of life's fleetingness, or it helped them see the promises of documenting life around them using photography. If not the pandemic, other questions, and experiences, however mundane or weighty, influenced people’s photographic practices. Before my review, the idea of looking at many photographs inspired by different styles, techniques, and visions daunted while also excited me. Judging work is highly subjective—and daunting! But I felt excited because this exhibition suggests that photography continues to be as relevant and profound as it was when those early photography pioneers in the 19th century ushered in global modernity (for better or worse). Whether photographers use digital technologies for image making or continue to develop their work using age-old techniques (or all the above), photography is not dead, contrary to the sentiments of many analog purists. And, photography is art, contrary to the feelings of many “fine art” collectors.

For this edition of "we like small things," I have selected photographs that left me smiling, wondering about photographic processes, philosophizing to myself about the ontology of photography, or wanting to escape into the fantastical environments pictured inside the frames. The short of it is: the images left me wanting to see more from the photographs that I selected. Only after I chose a certain number had I realized that certain genres or subject matter were left out of my final selections. Their lack of representation does not mean that, for example, documentary, landscape, or portrait photography are any less important or relevant than the kind of images I selected. The lack of representation of certain genres of photographs might stand as
a call for those who practice inside these photographic genres to innovate or experiment. I encourage photographers to strive to produce images that are less predictable and less referential to other photographers in the canon. I also encourage photographers to strive to leave their photographic mark, to create images that are distinctly theirs."
 

—Jan Christian Bernabe