John Edmonds

Photographer John Edmonds visits RISD for a photo lecture. His series Hoods (2016) features portraits from behind of people wearing hoodies, elevating the overstuffed portrait genre featuring the backs of people’s heads. Devoid of defining features, bar maybe a stray piece of hair, the photos force viewers to come to terms with their own assumptions about the clothing and the anonymous person wearing it. In an ArtForum interview, Edmonds says his more recent series Du-Rags (2017) represents “this supreme genderless black being in an ephemeral divine state,” he has said. Printed on silk, the photos are designed to be seductive, and also feature the backs of people’s heads.