Alabama 2018

Richard Ross made this photograph, Alabama, sometime around the 21st century, with a camera. The limited palette creates a kind of stillness, almost like a minimalist painting – think Agnes Martin but with a very different kind of subject. It's the human subject that brings it home, though. The texture of the concrete walls and floor is rough, unforgiving. You can almost feel it. The orange of the jumpsuit is jarring against this grey, a splash of color in an otherwise bleak environment. The photograph looks quite sharp. Ross is not hiding anything from us, but is making us witness. Look closely at the figure's hands, clasped tightly together. It’s such a small gesture, but it speaks volumes about the human spirit amidst confinement. It reminds me of a photograph by Dorothea Lange. Both Ross and Lange, in different ways, hold a mirror up to society. It’s a powerful reminder that art doesn’t always have to be beautiful, it can also be a mirror reflecting back the uncomfortable truths of the world around us.