FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Jason Florio

'Makasutu - Mecca in the Forest' & 'Silafando - A Gift to You on Behalf of My Journey'
Portraits from The Gambia, West Africa

ATLANTA, June 29, 2011 – Hagedorn Foundation Gallery is proud to present an exhibition of images by award winning photographer Jason Florio. Florio, whose artistic oeuvre is funded by his commercial and photojournalistic work, presents a remarkable series of classic black and white portraits of villagers living near the sacred forest of Makasutu, and five rich color prints of village elders, produced during 12 years of travels by foot through the small West African country of The Gambia.

Resonating with a lushness and interior investigation of his subjects, as seen in masters such as Irving Penn, Jason Florio’s elegant series is immensely enriching. Each very personal image is shot in an outdoor studio jerry–rigged in available spaces and formalized with a black linen sheet, which the artist hangs in the trees to provide an isolating and focusing scrim. Members of the small Makasutu community are pictured in the execution of their duties -- night fishers, oyster gatherers, rat-catchers, ceremonial leaders. Concurrently, Florio came to know the elders of every small village in Gambia and made their formal portraits, much like a “presidential portrait,” with important appurtenances at the ready, Florio imbues his subjects with a quiet dignity, warmth, and shimmering beauty unique in photography today.

Artist Statement
Photography for me is a way to strip away the boundaries, the prejudices and the false ideas that society and environmental pressures impose to frame my vision. It is a conduit and a tool to bridge a myriad of barriers, be they linguistic, age related, or ideological. In my approach the most important thing about photography is the process. It is about being in the moment and about the connection with the person or place I photograph. It is about finding a way to describe myself and in a way engage with humanity.

Biography
Jason Florio is a NYC based photographer and writer from London. For the past 10 years he has worked as a freelance photojournalist around the globe for publications including The New Yorker, New York Times, Outside, Libération and The Times of London. At the beginning of his career he had gained recognition after being one of the last photographers in Afghanistan to photograph the anti-Taliban commander Ahmed Shah Massoud in August 2001, who was assassinated by Al Qaeda operatives on September 9th, then to be at the foot of the World Trade Center on September 11th as it collapsed. Florio spent the last three months of 2009 making a 930 km expedition by foot of The Gambia, West Africa to produce a series of portraits of African chiefs for which in part he was given fellowship of the Royal Geographical Society in London. The resulting body of work from the journey, titled ‘Silafando: A Gift to You on Behalf of my Journey’ won Florio The International Photography Awards – People Photographer of the Year 2010. The Gambia has been a place Florio regularly returns to. For the past twelve years he has made yearly trips there to work on a long-term project of the people living in and around a sacred forest called Makasutu. The culminating body of work was shown in New York in 2009 in a solo exhibition and the work won a Black and White magazine Spotlight Award, as well as garnering him a nomination for the Santa Fe Prize for Photography. Part of the Makasutu series was acquired by the Haggerty Museum of Art. Florio was awarded the Joy of Giving Something grant in 2004 to produce the first ever assigned story for Aperture in their 50 year history, called ‘This is Libya’, which is now part of the permanent collection of The Forward Thinking Museum. His work on Afghanistan is in the permanent collection of the Brooklyn Museum of Art in New York, as well as a number of private collections. Florio is planning another expedition to West Africa to retrace the journey of his hero, Scottish explorer Mungo Park, who went in search of the source of the Niger River 200 years ago.

Museum Collections
Permanent Collection, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn
Permanent Collection, Forward Thinking Museum, New York
Permanent Collection, Haggerty Museum of Art, Milwaukee

Solo Exhibitions
2011
Makasutu – Mecca in the Forest & Silafando: A Gift to You on Behalf of my Journey
Hagedorn Foundation Gallery, Atlanta
2009
Makasutu, Messineo Art and Wyman Contemporary Gallery, New York
2005
Makasutu – Mecca in the Forest, Half King Gallery, New York
2002
Afghanistan, 39th Exposure Gallery, San Francisco
2001
Afghanistan, The Silent Majority, The Talk Gallery, New York

Group Shows
2011
The Truth is not in the Mirror, Haggerty Museum of Art, Milwaukee
2010
The White Box Gallery, New York
2007
Momento Mori, The Artist Network, New York
2004
Residents Show, The Artist Network, New York
2003
New Acquisitions, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn
Chiapas, Mckool Studios, Dallas (Texas)
2002
Afghanistan, Messineo Wyman Projects, New York
2001
The Sept 11th Project, New York

Partial Client List
The World Bank
Addison Design NY
Citi Bank
FINCA
Getty Images

Editorial Work
The New Yorker
New York Times
Businessweek
Outside
London Sunday Times Travel
London Times
AARP Bulletin
Virginia Quarterly Review
Geographical
National Geographic Adventure
Etiquetta Negra
Wall Street Journal
GQ
Aperture
Photo District News
A.Times
Utne Reader
Black and White Magazine
Colors
Marie Claire

Awards
2011
PX3 Prix de la Photographie – Press / War – Gold Medal
2010
International Photography Awards – People Photographer of the Year
Forward Thinking Museum – 2nd Quarter Contest – Winner
Daylight/CDS Photo Awards – Honorable Mention – Project Prize
New York Photo Festival – Honorable Mention – Fine Art/Personal Series
Photo District News – Finalists – Faces
2009
Center – Review Santa Fe – Nominee
Black and White Magazine – Spot Light Award
Photo District News – Finalist – Travel Portrait