Shawn Records is one of the winners of our 2019 Book Prize Award contest. This contest awarded a handful of artists the opportunity to publish a limited edition monograph with Aint–Bad in the Spring of 2021. We are so excited to begin working with Shawn to produce his first book! Shawn holds a BA from Boise State University and an MFA from Syracuse University (2003). His work is held in the permanent collections of the Museum of Contemporary Photography, Light Work, and the Portland Art Museum, among others, and has been shown widely, including two solo exhibitions at Blue Sky Gallery and many group exhibitions.
Based in Portland, Oregon, Records has spent the past sixteen years juggling art and assignment work with teaching photography and family life. Editorial clients have included The New York Times Magazine, Vice, LeMonde’s M, Monocle,Travel & Leisure, Dwell, and many others. When he’s not doing photography, or teaching photography, he’s probably walking his dog, watching news bloopers, or perfecting his jump shot in the driveway.
Hero
Initially undertaken in honor of my fortieth birthday (an acknowledge existential landmark of sorts), Hero is an epic collection of photographic odds and ends that have been carefully sequenced to follow the Hero’s Journey, the classic narrative structure used again and again in literature and film. Consider it both a celebration of the inherent ambiguity of photography as well as a tongue-in-cheek attempt to find connections in, and add meaning to, my own life. Even if only in hindsight.
To view more of Shawn Records’s work please visit his website.