All images © Amanda James
Not for the squeamish this one, but still brilliant work nonetheless. In The Land of Adam and Eve, as it is called, is a documentation of photographer Amanda James´ trip throughout Africa. Of the project, she says, "While I was travelling in Africa, I found myself photographing my own personal experiences with the continent instead of focusing on other people’s perceptions. I found the land very raw and filled with life and death. In the photograph, Fallen Calf, of the head of a dead calf was taken after I witnessed the still birth. I felt a sadness and sympathy for the animal that never got chance at life. This is the cycle of Africa. Life and Death, joy and sadness.I wanted to document my relationship and experience with this very raw and inhibited continent."
"`Photo Journaling´ is a way of remembering events and details about my life. I like photographing weird moments in time that are only a moment, and that will eventually disappear with time. Decay and death are reoccurring themes seen in many of my photographs. I'm very interested in the ability to preserve things. My style tends to be odd and disturbing, but also very feminine. I am drawn to more muted desaturated colors, thus making the photograph very raw and real. My main influences come from the photographers Diane Arbus, William Eggleston, and Stephen Shore."
Amanda James is a graduate from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She says she plans on receiving her M.F.A. in photography in the next couple of years and is now working on projects that focus on her grandmother and other older people in their homes. James has had shows exhibiting her work in galleries in Las Vegas, NV, Salt Lake City, UT, and Atlanta, GA. She has been featured in several art blogs as well as the City Weekly Newspaper in Salt Lake City, UT.
