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3/12/2004

Alec Soth

Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool

Sleeping by the Mississippi

'Over and over again I fall asleep with my eyes open, knowing I'm falling asleep, unable to prevent it. When I fall asleep this way, my eyes are cut off from my ordinary mind as though they were shut, but they become directly connected to a new, extraordinary mind which grows increasingly competent to deal with their impressions'
Charles Lindbergh, writing about the twenty-second hour of his transatlantic flight in the Spirit of St. Louis.

Open Eye Gallery is proud to present Sleeping By The Mississippi the first ever solo UK exhibition by acclaimed American photographer Alec Soth.

In the winter of 1999, Alec Soth undertook a road trip. Beginning by the frozen waters of north Minnesota, he travelled along the trail of the Mississippi River through to its end in Louisiana. Over the next five years he regularly travelled this route, all the while photographing the life and landscape along this mythical rivers journey through the heart of America.

His stunning large format colour photographs, a mixture of landscapes, portraits and interiors, possess a poetical and lyrical quality. Like the river itself, his photographs ebb and flow through America. In his photographs there is no one story to tell, but rather a series of scattered dream-like fragments, that form the collective psyche of this vast and complex country.

The Mississippi River has inspired artists, writers and musicians to produce some of the most celebrated creative work in American history. Over the last year praise for Sleeping By The Mississippi has steadily grown and it is now being viewed as one of the most interesting and important new bodies of photographic work to emerge in the US in recent years. Continuing a rich vein of American photography that includes Walker Evans, Robert Frank, William Eggleston and Joel Sternfield amongst others, Soth's photographs capture something fresh and unique about the contemporary American landscape and its inhabitants.

Alec Soth (born Minneapolis, 1969), graduated with a BA from Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, New York. He was recently selected for nominee membership by Magnum Photos and was acclaimed as one of the highlights of this years Whitney Biennial, New York. His work is held in several private and public collections including The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis. A hardback monograph, 'Sleeping By The Mississippi', published by Steidl is available and accompanies the exhibition.

Alec Soth will be giving a gallery talk and signing copies of 'Sleeping By The Mississippi 'at Open Eye Gallery on Saturday 4 December 2004 at 1.00pm.

Open Eye Gallery
28-32 Wood Street Liverpool L1 4AQ

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