The Way Home 2000

Editor: Tom Hunter’s photograph, "The Way Home," created in 2000, shows a woman floating in a small body of water, surrounded by lush foliage. It almost looks like a modern Ophelia, but set against the backdrop of what seems like an ordinary street. What's your perspective on it? Curator: For me, the photograph becomes compelling when we consider its production. Hunter often photographs individuals within their own lived environments. The materiality of this work – photography, with its historical associations with documentary realism - combined with the staging and lighting techniques, disrupts any simplistic reading of this scene. Think about the means of production – what is the labor involved in finding this location, styling the model, and creating this image? Editor: That’s interesting. So, you're suggesting we should think about the labor that went into making the work, rather than simply taking it as an objective record of something? Curator: Exactly. And also how the setting -- that combination of nature and encroaching urban development -- influences its interpretation. Consider the social context, the person depicted in the picture is immersed in nature yet still seemingly within reach of urbanization. Where do you imagine is 'the way home'? And what socio-economic realities might have created a situation where this particular kind of refuge seems necessary? Editor: I hadn't really considered the "way home" in terms of social or economic factors, more in a personal or metaphorical sense. Now that you point it out, though, the choice of location does seem very deliberate. Curator: Consider the consumer of this image too – this photo, printed and exhibited in a gallery, is likely consumed by an audience vastly different from the person depicted within it. Editor: That really gives me a lot to think about - how the process, materials, and even the intended audience shapes the meaning of the artwork. Thank you. Curator: Likewise; thinking through those social and economic dimensions, the act of production and the nature of spectatorship, definitely enriches the image for me, too.