Week 19
Before I begin with this week’s feature contributor, a big thank you to all of you who have been and continue to contribute. #thehashtagofman project stepped over the 300 images mark and while that may not seem so large, it shows that there is a growing community of folks aiming to show the spirit of what the project is all about. There is such good work coming in that it feels like this could be a SOTD but time just cannot permit that at the mo’. The wait produces a sweeter taste anyways right?

Now – this week’s SOTW.

I remember my first “meeting” with @cimek on Instagram. It was very early on in my research, looking at bodies of work and photographer profiles and seeing how portfolios either shifted or remained the same over time. She had this huge body of work committed to a very disciplined recipe of tone and light, so over-exposed an aesthetic – as if your perception was blinded by looking towards the sun. Washed out colours and faint lines, objects and structures hanging sideways or even upside down. And yet it all seemed to work, to hold ground and receive applause. Her submissions to #thehashtagofman are so far removed from this first meeting.

For #thehashtagofman @cimeks haunting figures sweep across Silent Hill landscapes where the moan of isolation is muffled in a palette of isolation and ominnous light. One can hear the wind in these images, and a lighthouse bell off in the distance. It’s hard to believe the iPhone is capable of possessing such projections from a tiny screen. Not all of her people images are of this render, and those which peak out from the shadows or play in the light of day show a celebration and youth in their body, face and spirit. These are just such clean images – their sound is pure. If you like more hard core street photography this will not be your work, this is more articulated than shoot from the hip or in your face. The lovely thing about #thehashtagofman like The Family of Man is the artistic voices and translations of life that curation brings.

www.cimek.se