Last weekend I had the opportunity to visit the Exhibition of Alec Soth’s Sleeping by the Mississippi at Beetles & Huxley in London.
His large format colour images were taken along the Mississippi described as Americas neglected third coast. Soth grew up near the Mississippi so felt compelled to make this body of work. The exhibition is coincided with the launch of the latest MACK edition of his photo book.
The exhibition and the book consists of a mix of Landscapes, portraits and interiors, some images I found more compelling than others, most focus around the story of dreams or aspirations most appear to not be realised.
Peters Houseboat is an interesting image of a houseboat that sits on the frozen Mississippi. The insipid colours of the landscape are broken by the brightly coloured clothes on the washing line, the clothes suggest that ‘Peter’ wears a suit (There is a tie hanging) and there must be another member to his family at least. I wonder then if the skulls around the frontage of his home are purchased decorations or if he caught them himself?
In the back of the book Peter is quoted as saying ” I dream of running water”, he has lived on the river houseboat for 20 years, I presume therefore that it freezes often. A side thought is that washing those clothes must be a laborious task with frozen water!
There were a number of other images that drew me however I am considering using one of them in a later assignment so will refrain from adding too much here.
Wendy Rose Context & Narrative 
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