‘Every wrinkle tells a story’

If every picture tells a story, then for photographer Joe Wabe, those stories come from their subjects.

In his upcoming “Memorias” exhibition, Wabe displays images that reflect stories he heard while talking to people on his travels.

“These are places and people where I sat down and had a chat... they all had a story,” he said.

These stories are important to Wabe, who finds a rapport with his subject essential for his photography.

“I have to have some kind of connection with them before I start taking pictures. I will approach them first and I will try to start a conversation.”

“If it’s going well, then the last thing I will do is ask them if I can take a picture. They will always say yes, because we’ve established a connection,” he said.

He said that when he started photography more than 15 years ago he would take pictures with no such introduction, but he was not happy with the results.

“There was no spirit, no nothing. But doing it the opposite way you get all the beautiful expressions in it.”

The subjects of the exhibition’s photographs are generally older people. Wabe finds them particularly interesting as subjects.

“They show a lot more in their faces than in the pretty face of someone younger. I think every wrinkle has a story,” he said.

“You can tell a lot just by looking at someone’s face.”

Wabe simplifies the photos to their main subjects in Photoshop before blending them with layers of abstract texture from separate photographs of the surroundings.

“The picture I took with the fisherman at the sea, the layer that I put on top is part of one of the old boats that they had there,” he explained.

He added that the use of black and white helped the viewer focus on the subject, as well as adding a wistful feeling to the image.

“It looks like these days everybody is going back to the ’80s and everybody has that kind of look,” he said. “I wanted to go back a bit further than that.”

The opening of the exhibition will be held from 5-8 p.m. on Aug. 10. Wabe will be introducing the stories attached to the photos and answering questions from visitors.

The exhibition runs from Aug. 10-31 at PDG Gallery in Nongseong-dong, Gwangju.

By Paul Kerry (paulkerry@heraldcorp.com)