Every summer for over 40 years, Shelby Lee Adams travelled to the mountains of Eastern Kentucky to take photographs. Now in his 70s, Adams has returned to his archive of unpublished images taken between 1974 and 2010. His aim was to print those which may have been previously overlooked, concerned that if he did not print them in his lifetime, the photographs would never be made. Nearly 90 of these unpublished photographs are included in his new book From the Heads of the Hollers—portraying the culture and people of his native land. 

Adams’ intention when he first began to take pictures had been to ‘photograph what I knew’ . His annual summer trips allowed him to renew and relive his childhood in these mountains. He began by taking photographs of his grandparents, uncles and aunts, neighbours and friends. He then asked for introductions when he brought back photographs to distribute to those whose portraits he had taken. Introductions led to further introductions and  over the course of four decades he continued to work in this manner, photographing three, four or sometimes even five generations of the same families. 

‘I ask folks to look into the camera lens and find their own reflection while thinking about significant events in their lives that are important to them. Life experiences for all of us vary greatly and are imprinted in our core being and that bears through, influencing our appearances. When a photographer is connected to his subjects, pretences and masks fall away, bringing forward a more unrestrained and engaging portrait.’

Often, when Adams got to know someone, he would photograph them on return visits, sometimes a couple of years apart, sometimes a decade. Each person is depicted as they chose and felt most comfortable—some sit whilst other stand, some are outside their homes whilst others prefer to be photographed inside, revealing the details of their everyday lives. Some photographs show whole families, siblings, friends or lone figures but the portraits are united by the subject’s unflinching gaze towards Adams and his camera. 

‘Years ago, some of my subjects told me they did not want to have their pictures placed in a book alongside their community’s ‘well-to-do,’ the very ones who ‘put us down and make fun of us.’ I listened to them. They are sensitive to this issue. I heard their stories and have gained their trust.

After seeing my first book, it was clear that the holler folks understood my vision, and since then they have always helped me to find more of the grounded and authentic culture that defines them, even as it disappears. So, by word of mouth, I’ve created a collective portrait of our holler people that many have never seen before.’

The publication of the book will coincide with the exhibition of Adams’ work at Paul Paletti Gallery in Louisville, Kentucky from 5 October  – 29 December 2023 as part of the Louisville Photo Biennial.

A donation of 10% of proceeds from sale of the book (after pre-orders have finished) purchased directly from www.gostbooks.com will be donated to Team Kentucky Flood Relief Fund. 

_

Born in Hazard, Kentucky (1950) and later living with his grandparents in Hot Spot, Shelby Lee Adams discovered photography and the arts in high school. He studied at Cleveland Institute of Art, where in his sophomore year he was exposed to the photographs of the Farm Security Administration, and inspired to make the photographs for which he is best known. Adams has been the recipient of a survey grant and photography fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts (1978, 1992), an artist support grant from the Polaroid Corporation (1989-92), and the recipient of a Guggenheim photography Fellowship. His photographs are held in the permanent collections of museums, including MoMA and Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Art Institute of Chicago; Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C.; Harvard Fogg Museum, Cambridge, and V&A Museum, London. His work has been published in the previous monographs Appalachian Portraits (1993), Appalachian Legacy (1998), Appalachian Lives (2003) and Salt and Truth (2011).