William Wesley Douglas III is an internationally exhibited artist who was born in Charleston, South Carolina. He lived in Puerto Rico as a child, was raised in Virginia and currently lives in Florida. Douglas studied at Virginia Commonwealth University where he received a BFA in Photography and Filmmaking. In 2011 he was a recipient of a VMFA fellowship. Since then, Douglas has participated in various important exhibitions including Snapshot Aesthetic at Black Box Gallery in Portland and NOW at The Visual Art Exchange in Raleigh. In 2014 he was included in numerous publications including “Petty Thieves Five” published by Empty Stretch and “BASTARDS” published by Oranbeg Press. In 2015 he was in Peripheral Vision at Candela in Richmond, was included in the Review Santa Fe 100, Lens Culture Emerging Talents 2015, The 6th Annual Contemporary Photography Exhibition at the Philadelphia Photo Arts Center, and many more exhibitions. He is currently pursuing his MFA in Studio Arts at the University of South Florida where he is a graduate fellow.
The Same Difference Between Us and Them
William Douglas uses water in its many different forms as a central theme in his work because of its importance to biological growth and survival for all living organisms, with this he is attempting to raise questions about science and religion. In these photographs, Douglas works in the tradition of an on the road artist highlighting commonplace occurrences in Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, and Puerto Rico. He uses an image or a sequence of images to communicate universal concepts of life, love, and death. In addition to a traditional approach he uses color gradients, some captured with a camera others digitally fabricated from the pictures he takes to comment on how colors are perceived. He finds coastal regions that are accustom to deterioration of their landscapes due to severe weather have an aura that is prominent for making images of this kind.
To view more of William’s work, please visit his website.