20x200

Untitled (Sarah & Arnold) by Michael Bodiam

Untitled (Red Carpet) by Michael Bodiam

Good morning, collectors! It's Sara, with our first pair of prints from London-based photographer Michael Bodiam. Michael was one of five photographers selected in our 2010 Hey, Hot Shot! photography competition. He exhibited his work alongside fellow Hot Shots Laura Bell, Amy Stevens, Zhijie Sui and Chikara Umihara at Jen Bekman Gallery earlier this year. And now, all five photographers are in the running for the $10,000-and-two-years-of-gallery-representation grand prize. I'm excited to report that we'll be announcing the winner and opening the first round of competition in 2011 very, very soon. Among other things, HHS! is the only way for photographers to submit work to be reviewed for 20x200, so if that's something you've wondered about, stay tuned.

Similarly to yesterday's new print, Icon by Michelle Muldrow, Michael's photographs, Untitled (Sarah & Arnold) and Untitled (Red Carpet), highlight sites of commerce. Unlike Michelle's work, though, which focuses on the ongoing—and seemingly, increasingly pervasive and invasive—role of consumerism in contemporary American culture, Michael's photographs document what relics remain and sentiments persist after the fall of an economy.

Untitled (Sarah & Arnold) and Untitled (Red Carpet), from Michael's series Dickins & Jones, are also a good foil to Brian Ulrich's series of post-December 2007 closed storefronts, Dark Stores. But unlike Brian's photographs, which keep a distance from their subjects and seem to wonder what happens next, Michael's pictures bring us close and cryptically allude to what happened then—when these spaces were populated by people and things, shoppers and garments to be had. Michael's images of the now empty stores are carefully composed, surfacing small details—paint stains, a particular kind and color of carpet, wear and tear. What is absent becomes more present, hinting subtly at the life—both public and private—that these spaces formerly had. Associate Director of Jen Bekman Gallery Jeffrey Teuton notes that, "There is so much energy and vibrancy coming out of these static spaces. They are at once quiet and deafening. It is as if the rise and fall of the spaces is happening all at once in front of you and in a split second you are left standing there in silence, with nothing but dizzying memories."