Influenced by the modern masters of photography and surrealism, specifically, Carrie Mae Weams, Ralph Eugene Meatyard, Duane Michals and Rene Magritte, Stephen Sheffield creates images that are often formal and heroic and dreamlike at the same time. Each image could be considered a performance and the dark suited “everyman” is the muse with Sheffield inhabiting the suit or a diminutive stand-in. Using large format black and white film and an antique press camera, the mood of his photos is enhanced by the purposeful and expressive imperfections of age and medium.
Sheffield, is a storyteller and performer depicting the ordinary and unusual through the filter of his occasionally dark sense of humor. The subject is modern man, men, and masculinity with a focus on fears, failures, ego, irony and manufactured heroics. He often supports the cinematic mood by use of development techniques, non-traditional photographic processes, and outdated Polaroid positive/negative film.
“Ascent”
“Monument”
“Savior”
“His Ledger”
“End Of The Line”
