Flatboat 2022

Julie Blackmon's photograph, "Flatboat," captures this uncanny family tableau on what looks like a lazy afternoon, sometime in the 21st century. The colour palette is warm, sun-drenched, and just a touch melancholic. You know, I imagine Blackmon, a mother herself, orchestrating this scene, part performance, part documentary, with an intuitive and playful process. It's almost like a stage set, yet it feels so personal. There is this gorgeous light hitting the girl in the center. Is she about to dive? Or, lost in reverie, is she basking in the sun? Blackmon is exploring the poetics of family life, those moments of chaos, tenderness, and unexpected beauty that make up our everyday experience. Like other photographers such as Tina Barney, Blackmon takes us into the private world of American families, reminding us that art is always in conversation with what came before, each artist building on the ideas and innovations of their predecessors. In the end, Blackmon’s "Flatboat" embraces this ambiguity, inviting us to bring our own stories to the table.