Andy Vernon-Jones

Andy Vernon-Jones is an artist and educator who teaches photography and visual art at a small public high school in Brooklyn, NY. He is the author of the photobook, Here in Red Hook, short during his 5 years living and working in Red Hook, Brooklyn. His photographs have been exhibited around the east coast including at the Brooklyn Museum. His second book Invitations, Encounters, will be released by Apartment Seven Press in the spring of 2016. It will present a vibrant, inviting and strange collection of images shot on travels in India.

Andy was born and raised in Amherst, Massachusetts and studied art and photography at Wesleyan University. He earned a masters degree in Art Education from City College of New York. In his free time he likes to dance, cook and play basketball. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner, Avni.

Here in Red Hook

My photography deals with people- how we look, how we’re seen, our individuality and how we relate to others. It celebrates how fascinating we are. It explores ways in which people can be represented that are unique, yet reference photographic tradition, including documentary photography, studio portraiture, fashion photography and small town photography of the early 20th century. I attempt to show both the struggles and the possibilities in our society.

My book Here in Red Hook was shot during five years working and living in the unique and secluded Brooklyn neighborhood of Red Hook. The photographs take the viewer on a poetic journey through the back streets and hidden alleys of one the community. The pictures attempt to convey layers of history and explore residents’ relationship to a place that has seen both great hardship and great resilience. The pictures are infused with a glowing light that bathes the bay-side community at dawn They affirm life, while not turing away from the reality of oppression.

To see more of Andy’s work, please view his website.

His monograph, Here in Red Hook, is also available for purchase through Aint-Bad Editions.