LA GUN CLUB AT ELEVEN FINE ARTS
Renowned photographer and film maker Jane Hilton is to reveal her new series of photographs in L.A. Gun Club at popular London art gallery, Eleven.
Hilton, who has built a career around her exploration of ordinary people with remarkable lives, continues in this same vein through her documentation of American culture and Americana through one of the country’s most controversial pursuits.
Throughout this series of photographs available to view at Eleven from 13th May to 18th June, Hilton presents the target posters, ranging from minimalist human forms to cartoon bad guys, chosen by everyday Americans in downtown Los Angeles to shoot at as part of their past times, revealing their reasons for indulging in the legal pursuit.
A high school Biology teacher explains his interest in the activity as “stress relief” and states that it isn’t unusual for his colleagues to have guns and use them at clubs when they’ve had a bad day- “but that doesn’t mean I visualise the pupils [when shooting].”
She details a whole range of characters from brain surgeons to couples on date nights and details their reasons for interest in gun culture, displaying just a snapshot of the attitudes towards guns, as well as their use and ownership in America. Guns are normalised and a part of everyday life used for protection and recreational pursuits.
The selection of images proves powerful and thought provoking when teamed with the quotes from participants, encouraging viewers to challenge their beliefs on why guns are such a large part of American culture and go beyond the obvious and well accepted ideals of it being accepted as just part of the constitution.
Every photograph was taken on a 5×4 inch plate camera and is printed on archival digital etch paper, with each image measuring 30×22 inches in an edition of 7.
For those who would like to view more work from the L. A. Gun Club series, additional exhibits will also be shown during Photo London at Somerset House from 19th to 22nd May on stand E2.
Words: Jessica Guy
Image credits from top:
Jane Hilton, Target A, 2016. Pigment print Archival Fine Art Etch paper. Paper size: 30 x 22 in / 76 x 57 cm. Edition of 7.
Jane Hilton, Target M, 2016. Pigment print Archival Fine Art Etch paper. Paper size: 30 x 22 in / 76 x 57 cm. Edition of 7.
Jane Hilton, Target J, 2016. Pigment print Archival Fine Art Etch paper. Paper size: 30 x 22 in / 76 x 57 cm. Edition of 7.
