Sky Wilson – Neighbours – PhotoBook Journal

Review by Gerhard Clausing •

Portland, Oregon, is one of my favorite cities and has remained so, even as it is in transition, as many other cities are as well. My recollections are that it has the largest bookstore in the world, and that it is full of interesting people, many of whom have a special appreciation of the arts.

It is hard to document a place in a single photobook and not be accused of distortion. Sky Wilson, being a newcomer to Portland, has a special talent for being a non-intrusive discoverer of people and places. He has a knack for making ordinary everyday life worthy of being remembered.

The photographs in this book are all monochrome. For the most part, they are marked by lower contrast, matching Wilson’s non-intrusive investigative approach that also mirrors some of the weather in Portland, where the light is not always super-bright and contrasty.

The result is a photobook that shows people from that city in an honest and straightforward fashion. We have none of the posings of the days of August Sander, which were projects that seemed eager to present a typology of the inhabitants of a place. Wilson’s “neighbours,” i.e., those with whom he now shares his city, are presented in a very informal fashion. Even though they are looking straight at the camera for the most part, they are not giving the impression of any kind of formal posing. There are youngsters, and older folks in transition. The people Wilson presents seem more at ease than is the case in most portraits, while the surroundings seem to match the gradual wear and tear that time imposes on places (as well as on people). The folks presented are a cross-section of the city’s actual ethnicities and age groups. What might be going on in the lives and minds of all these Portlanders?

In this day and age of extreme hyperbole, it’s refreshing to see an understated approach, as shown in this photobook. The lack of formality is the actual vehicle which makes for an enjoyable survey of the visual narration of this project.

The physical presentation is easy on the eyes as well. The large format of the pages allows for easy viewing; the generous layout allows the eyes to rest and the mind to contemplate. All in all, this photobook is a very successful first monograph, a stellar example that effectively demonstrates how to create a documentation of a place for ready acceptance by the viewers, without imposing any overlaid judgments.

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Gerhard Clausing, PhotoBook Journal Editor, is an author, photographer, and synthographer from Southern California.

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Sky Wilson – Neighbours

Photographer: Sky Wilson (born in South Korea; lives in Portland, Oregon, USA)

Essay: Will Matsuda

Language: English

Softbound with silver foil embossing; 48 pages, paginated; 9.5 x 12 inches (24 x 30 cm); printed in the United Kingdom; ISBN 978-1-9163115-3-4; first edition of 300 copies

Editor and Curator: Lola Paprocka

Designer: Jamie Allan Shaw

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Articles and photographs published in the PhotoBook Journal may not be reproduced without the permission of the PhotoBook Journal staff and the photographer(s). All images, texts, and designs are under copyright by the authors and publishers.