Image courtesy of the collection of Robert E. Jackson
Robert E. Jackson finds metaphors for social distance in his collection of vernacular photography.
Social distancing is undoubtedly the word of the moment. Right now, more than 3.5 million photos on Instagram are hashtagged #socialdistancing, and nearly every photography organization has an open call related to the theme. We can't escape it.
As you might expect, it's been on the mind of snapshot collector, Robert E. Jackson. Over the past few weeks, Jackson culled his collection of over 14,000 vernacular photographs, looking for images that signal social distance.
“While snapshots deal so much with intimacy,” says Jackson, “I thought I would search my collection for photos which seem to deal with loneliness and disconnection. Not people by themselves, but people interacting in an odd way with other people.”
Although we have no knowledge of the backstory behind any of these images, looking at them now might give some clarity and humor to what we are all experiencing.
all images appear courtesy of the collection of Robert E. Jackson
