For nearly a decade, Jess T. Dugan has explored issues of gender, sexuality, and identity through intimate portraits of herself and others. Working within the framework of the queer community, and from her actively constructed sense of masculinity, Dugan’s photographs examine the intersection between private and individual identity, and the search for intimate connection with others. Dugan’s beautifully vulnerable and honest portraits are brought together in her new monograph Every breath we drew published by Daylight Books.
“Individual identity and sexuality are constructs far more complicated and fluid than we typically give them credit for. They are multifaceted, constantly changing and evolving in relation to our private experiences and relationships with others. Though these identities are internaland psychological, they are read and understood by others through our actions and bodies.” Jess T. Dugan
Dugan photographs people in their homes, often in their bedrooms, combining formal portraits, images of couples, self-portraits, and photographs of her own romantic relationship to investigate broader themes of identity and connection while also speaking to individual experience. The photographs of men and masculine individuals act as a kind of mirror; they depict the type of gentle masculinity Dugan is attracted to, yet also the kind she wants to embody.
“Dugan’s Every breath we drew contributes to the history of portraiture and photography in new, dynamic, and essential ways … While Dugan is keenly aware of the resonance of her subjects within specific communities, her works do not form borders. They instead extend boundaries and welcome broad audiences to engage, reflect, and mediate difference.” – Amy Galpin, curator, Cornell Fine Arts Museum
BOOK
Every Breath We Drew
Jess Dugan
Daylight Books
Hardcover, 9 x 11 inch.
128 pgs. 62 color
ISBN: 9781942084044
$50.00 US / £38
http://daylightbooks.org
http://www.jessdugan.com
