Ralph Gibson

As long as I can remember, I’ve been sick. I spent my childhood in and out of the hospital, so when my best friend took me to Scarborough Beach I was ecstatic. I had never really gone anywhere without my parents. We had boogie boards and were happily riding the waves when I was thrust face-first into the sand. No air, no light, no sound, no movement, no nothing. A second wave followed. I didn’t know which way was up. It was so uncomfortable, the sand in my mouth and the weight of the wave on top of me. 

–Sickly Swimmer, RAC member

Ralph Gibson’s photographs have a dreamlike, disorienting quality which he reveals through his unique vision and printing style. This work, from the portfolio Déjà-vu, can be understood as a frame from a mysterious narrative sequence. Technically, he exploits the graininess that can result when 35mm negatives are enlarged, a technique also used by his mentor, Robert Frank. His framing deliberately obscures the face and leaves the body incomplete, while the use of light refracted through water further fragments the figure.