Dry Hole, David Thomson

Dry Hole is an intuitive selection of images extracted from a collection of Real Photo Postcards (RPPCs). David Thomson emphasises details contained within the larger frame of the postcards by cropping into specific areas – a subtle nuance of light, a stranger’s gaze, an impending tornado – where the mundane and extraordinary hold company in equal measure. The diverse collection of images elicits stories of past endeavour and adventures at the beginning of our modern age. A nobility of spirit persists amidst immense hardship, unfettered aspirations and hope.

The early part of the last Century saw an explosion in popularity for RPPCs particularly in North America where they were both collected and used as an affordable and efficient way to communicate. Their widespread use was fuelled by a reduction to postal rates and accessibility to small cameras designed specifically for this format. While many RPPCs were mass produced and used commercially a proportion were made by amateurs and stand as unique historical documents conveying life in small town and rural America through the events, places and people they depict.

The Archive of Modern Conflict is an organisation dedicated to the collection and preservation of vernacular photographs, objects, artefacts, curiosities, and ephemera. Founded in 1991, the archive began as a collection of photographs relating to war and conflict but has since expanded its remit to become the vast and thematically diverse repository it is today.

Published by Archive of Modern Conflict and MÖREL
Softcover
464 pages
240 x 170 mm
ISBN 9781907071904