Bill Jacobson: When Is a Place

Jacobson's lyrical defocused photography evokes inner states and fleeting memories

The images in New York-based photographer Bill Jacobson's (born 1955) When Is a Placesuggest risks and uncertainties. They question both the nature of perception and our existential place in the world, themes explored throughout his five decades of making photographs. Jacobson's use of a defocused lens, bleached-out skies and a curious tonal range challenge boundaries of traditional...
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Jacobson's lyrical defocused photography evokes inner states and fleeting memories

The images in New York-based photographer Bill Jacobson's (born 1955) When Is a Placesuggest risks and uncertainties. They question both the nature of perception and our existential place in the world, themes explored throughout his five decades of making photographs. Jacobson's use of a defocused lens, bleached-out skies and a curious tonal range challenge boundaries of traditional photographic practice. Diffuse horizon lines dramatically bisect distant landscapes; the subtle curves of vague human bodies and unknown spaces suggestive of architecture play prominent intertwining roles. Jacobson's original large-scale prints are analog silver gelatin, printed by him in a traditional black-and-white darkroom. Created between 2018 and 2020, the images were made in Virginia, the south of France, upstate New York and in Jacobson's studio in New York City.