This has been a big year for visual arts shows using text — we had Lesley Dill’s Poetic Visions back in March, the Rebound show during Spoleto, and now Past Presence, which pairs photography with poetry. Photographer Robert Epps and poet and writer William Baldwin worked together to create this exhibition, which explores the enduring nature of Southern culture.
Epps’ photos are interior shots of iconic Charleston locales, like the Aiken-Rhett House and the Read Bros. store. After seeing his work, you won’t be surprised that he’s an architect as well as a photographer.
Baldwin is a novelist, historian, and biographer as well as a poet. The poems that accompany Epps’ work shift back and forth from the distant past to the present, offering a quiet commentary on the already quiet photographs.
The opening reception for Past Presence is Sat. July 20 from 5-7 p.m. The show will run through Aug. 18. See citygalleryatwaterfrontpark.com for more.
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