Billy Sears ‘18 BFA

In my photographs, the people who exist in this realm are outsiders. They’ve been alienated by society due to their unconventional life choices and upbringing. By making our mark on the world through our writing and appearance we are given an alternative voice than the one we were offered. We can write our own passage, and create our own playground, one which is abandoned, filled with colorful surfaces and free from societal norms. Space and human markings give contextual clues to the reality I’m creating, and informs people of the way these characters live.  Graffiti which is often a feature of the pictures, isn’t just something seen on walls; it can be the shadow of a flower imposed on a person, it can be the destruction of a landscape, or it can be the way color informs a portrait. In this story people themselves are a kind of writing which I try to interpret.