Bob Hambly - Somewhere in Between
That murky area where things are ambiguous, even uncomfortable, is where my eye tends to go. I don’t like referring to it as a state of transition – that implies that the existing status is temporary and unworthy of appreciation. Actually, situations can often be at their best during these incidental phases. Extremes such as new or old, attractive or ugly, liberal or conservative, are convenient classifications, however, much of what we experience falls somewhere in between – too nebulous for easy categorization. When choosing what to photograph, I don’t see illegible billboards or lonesome towns or discarded ice machines. I see unconventional beauty. Is something most notable when it is first built or thriving? Not necessarily. Change provides variations, iterations – all of which contribute to an ongoing story. The photographs that make up this volume of work capture those incidental phases and explore the curious sensation of being placed somewhere in between.