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In 1999
Alec Soth undertook a road trip, beginning by the frozen waters
of north Minnesota; he travelled along the trail of the Mississippi
River through to Louisiana. Over the next five years he regularly
travelled this route, all the while photographing the life
and landscape along this mythical river's journey through
the heart of America.
His stunning large
format colour photographs, a mixture of landscapes, portraits
and interiors, possess a poetic quality. Like the river itself,
his photographs ebb and flow through America. In his photographs
there is no one story to tell, but rather a series of scattered
dream-like fragments, that form the collective consciousness
of this vast and complex country.
The Mississippi River
has inspired many artists, writers and musicians to produce
some of the most celebrated creative work in American history.
Over the last year praise for 'Sleeping by the Mississippi'
has steadily grown and it is now being viewed as one of the
most interesting and important new bodies of photographic
work to emerge in the US in recent years.
Alec Soth graduated
with a BA from Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, New York.
He was recently selected for nominee membership by Magnum
Photos and was acclaimed as one of the highlights of this
years Whitney Biennial, New York . His work is held in several
public collections including The Whitney Museum of American
Art, New York, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and the Walker
Art Center, Minneapolis. A hardback monograph, 'Sleeping by
the Mississippi', published by Steidl will be available in
the gallery. This is a touring exhibition organised by Open
Eye Gallery in Liverpool.
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