Although you may have seen Adrienne’s bio on the about page, this is her first Mint post! Adrienne came on board as the Mint intern a few months ago, and she’s been busy helping out behind the scenes. Today she’s sharing an interview with Simon Biswas. Take it away, Adrienne!
I’m really excited to introduce Mint readers to an amazing photographer and a dear friend, Simon Biswas. He has a show in Dumbo at Superfine, and the opening reception is tonight (Thursday, April 29th, 6-8 pm). The show features selected works from 10,157.5 Miles: an American Road Trip. Raleigh was Simon’s first stop on his solo road trip last August. I’ve never seen a tiny Civic piled with so much photo and lighting equipment.
If you’re in NYC, you don’t want to miss this show. I wish I could make it.
Tell us a little bit about your show featuring photos you took on your cross country road trip.
I drove across the country last Summer for two months. 8 weeks. I went by myself and packed my Honda Civic with everything I thought I would need. Camera, lights, laptop, sleeping bag, water, food, gps, ipod, etc. It’s something I have been meaning to do for a long time. I just decided it was time. I drove from NYC down the east coast all the way to Florida then across the Pan Handle to the Southwest. Through the desert onto California up to Oregon and back through the Plains… Idaho/Wyoming/South Dakota and then the Midwest. Detour to Chicago back down to W. Virginia to Virginia up back the way I started. A total of 10,157.5 miles. Hence the name of the project.
What was your favorite destination? Why?
There were so many I places I loved for so many reasons. I can’t really decide. A few favorites include Mitchell, Oregon. That is where I took the picture of the banjo player. I spent the night there in a little bed & breakfast that cost me 17 dollars for the night and was at least 100 years old. The town looked as though it had been untouched since the Goldrush days. The population was 100 people. They had a giant live black bear in a cage in the center of town. It has been there for years. Rapid City, SD was incredible. I spent two nights there photographing an auction that happens weekly. People come from all over to sell there things and you get dinner and an auction. It’s the social event of the week. Caldwell, ID has one of the biggest rodeo’s in the US. New Orleans for all the obvious reasons. And I loved the desert. It was terrifying in it’s expanse but also awe inspiring. You are alone. The further I got from civilization the more I enjoyed the experience.
Your favorite photo from the trip?
There are too many to choose from. I love the banjo player. I actually started playing the banjo after meeting him. I got home and ordered my very own. I’m not very good. I went to a gun auction in Northern Arizona on a Saturday afternoon and photographed and that was an experience. Terrifying but truly eye opening. The photograph of the prisoner in Little Rock could be my favorite. Going into a maximum security prison and getting a photograph at all would have been been great and somehow I walked away with that image. It has so much gravitas in the space and isolation.
What inspires you as a photographer?
Everything. Movies, music, friends, other photographers, the internet, NPR. I try to keep my ear to the ground to get inspired. Anything at anytime can inspire. You just have to be ready to listen.
What other projects are you working on currently?
I was recently nominated by National Geographic to be a part of new summer event called LOOKbetween {put on by the LOOK3 Festival of the Photograph and BD (Beckton, Dickinson)}. It is an event to bring together and showcase 100 of the most innovative and progressive emerging photographers working today. I was asked to present a personal project of my choosing this June in Deep Rock, VA. I have been in pre-production and as soon as I am done with the gallery show I will switch gears and be shooting my project for the next few weeks. The list of nominating jurors is really astounding: groups as diverse as PDN, National Geographic, Humble Arts, Burn magazine, Luceo Images, Exposure Project, Photolucida, and numerous others. I am very honored and excited for this.
What are you currently listening to?
Let’s see… lately…in no particular order:
Four Tet, Memory Tapes, JJ, The XX, Dirty Projectors, Arthur Russell, Dark Was The Night, Florence + The Machine, Japandroids, Megafaun, Two Door Cinema Club, DJ Kaos – Love the Night Way, DJ Quik & Kurupt, Wu Tang Meets the Indie Culture Vol. 2
