Matrimonial Ties by John Paul Evans

Matrimonial ties is a project that encompasses varied responses and challenges to the historical and cultural significance of the wedding portrait in western culture.
Matrimonial Ties | John Paul Evans

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As an artist and academic, my work explores the way photography is deployed to construct notions of normality and otherness in western culture.

Matrimonial ties is a project that encompasses varied responses and challenges to the historical and cultural significance of the wedding portrait in western culture.

The works originated in 2013 as a personal reflection on the current state of social change in Britain, Europe and America around notions or definitions of marriage. 2017 will mark the 50th anniversary of the partial decriminalization of male homosexuals in England following the Wolfenden report. In a time of transition, it is possible to see a future where people of the same gender might be considered ‘marriage material’ whereas in previous generations same-sex relationships remained below the surface.

Matrimonial Ties | John Paul Evans

Matrimonial Ties | John Paul Evans
Matrimonial Ties | John Paul Evans

As an academic I have been critical of the way photography is used to reaffirm notions of belonging and otherness in relation to family portraiture. As a consequence there is little photographic evidence of the 28 years that my partner Peter and I have spent together. As Peter is in his late 70s and I am in my early 50s, there seemed to be an urgency to address this in my own mind, and explore alternatives to the couple/marriage/wedding portrait, if nothing other than to leave a trace of our presence in the world.

Whilst one cultural definition might shift, there is a personal awareness that individuals forming relationships across generation divides, whether straight or gay, will always be problematic ‘home-makers’, especially in terms of representation and conveyed meaning. To present the figures as an ‘odd couple’ is a useful metaphor to notions of home, belonging, acceptance and otherness.

‘Till death us do part’ is a series of absurd permutations of the wedding portrait. These performative responses to ideas of marriage and domesticity evoke a sense of the uncanny – the ‘homely and un-homely’.

‘Home and Away’ adopts the visual metaphor of alienation in presenting the couple literally as ‘outsiders’. This picture of ‘otherness’ fluctuates between the poignant, the comic, and a potentially disturbing presence in the domestic space. [Official Website]

Matrimonial Ties | John Paul Evans
Matrimonial Ties | John Paul Evans

4.Home-&-Away-6 5.till-death-us-do-part-6 6.till-death-us-do-part-7 7.Home-&-Away-3 8.till-death-us-do-part-13 9.till-death-us-do-part-8 10.Home-&-Away-2 11.till-death-us-do-part-9 12.Home-&-Away-4 13.till-death-us-do-part-11 14.Home-&-Away-7 15till-death-us-do-part-4

Matrimonial Ties | John Paul Evans
Matrimonial Ties | John Paul Evans

Matrimonial Ties | John Paul Evans
Matrimonial Ties | John Paul Evans

Matrimonial Ties | John Paul Evans
Matrimonial Ties | John Paul Evans

Matrimonial Ties | John Paul Evans
Matrimonial Ties | John Paul Evans

Matrimonial Ties | John Paul Evans
Matrimonial Ties | John Paul Evans

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Submission
Dodho Magazine accepts submissions from emerging and professional photographers from around the world.
Their projects can be published among the best photographers and be viewed by the best professionals in the industry and thousands of photography enthusiasts. Dodho magazine reserves the right to accept or reject any submitted project. Due to the large number of presentations received daily and the need to treat them with the greatest respect and the time necessary for a correct interpretation our average response time is around 5/10 business days in the case of being accepted. This is the information you need to start preparing your project for its presentation.
To send it, you must compress the folder in .ZIP format and use our Wetransfer channel specially dedicated to the reception of works. Links or projects in PDF format will not be accepted. All presentations are carefully reviewed based on their content and final quality of the project or portfolio. If your work is selected for publication in the online version, it will be communicated to you via email and subsequently it will be published.
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How can we help? Do you have an idea or something you'd like to share? Please use the form provided, or contact us at contact@dodho.com
Thank You. We will contact you as soon as possible.