APG > AIRPORT 2023

Juror’s Statement

Things are going well at the airport when they go as we expect them to, and the monotony becomes kind of the point. Check-in, security, waiting, drinks and snacks, waiting, board the plane, waiting, and thankful arrival. Photographs can reinforce that repetitive familiarity, with images like blurred human forms hustling down escalators, postcard-perfect vacation destinations, and smiling reunited families. Part of photography’s power, however, lies in its ability to convey something unexpected, new, or even jarring, through a unique viewpoint, juxtaposition, or representation. The 2023 Atlanta Photography Group exhibition, then, seems like a wonderful chance to (safely) introduce something a little unexpected into the experience of traveling through Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

The artists collected here approach photography through a myriad of styles and artistic practices, and their focus lands on an equally broad range of subjects. Through genres that include landscape, still-life, portraiture, fashion, and photojournalism, these photographers consider themes like family-life, pleasure, history, geography, home, climate change, and, yes, travel. In each of these photographs, my hope is that you find something a little different from the rest of the photography you might encounter on your journey – perhaps unexpected – that helps you to see things in a new way.