Our modern world is busy, and it’s easy to pass people on the street without giving them a second thought. When we don’t really see the individuals around us, however, our community can suffer. Photographer Sarah Gilliam aims to break that cycle with “Portrait Park,” a collection of black-and-white photographs on display in the arts district of Columbia, Tenn., about an hour south of Nashville.
Gilliam shares her inspiration for this visual love letter to her community. “These people could be anywhere,” she says. “They could be your sister or they could be your teacher.”
For each of the 48-inch square “Portrait Park” images, subjects were photographed sitting in front of a white backdrop. The resulting large-scale portraits are full of character and show the breadth of individuals that make up a small town.