Alison
A powerful and emotional series documenting the life of his daughter, these intimate photos tell the story of an individual and capture the spirit of a girl becoming a woman.
View more of Mr Radcliffe’s work here
Artist Statement
When my daughter Alison was born, in the tradition of a new parent, I began to photograph her, initially in a separate and private body of work. However, in the process of documenting Alison’s growth, I developed a passionate interest in human relationships and capturing intimate moments in the lives of family and friends.
This affected my photography in a profound way. Rather than the isolated subjects of my earlier work, I became interested in the strength of relationships, oftentimes using personal environments to amplify those conditions.
My photographs of Alison, because of the nature of our relationship, are very much a father-daughter collaboration-Alison permitting me access to private moments of our life, which might, under different circumstances, be off-limits to a parent. The camera, early in her life, became part of our relationship, necessitating in me an acceptance, a quietness. We’ve never had long photographic sessions, but rather moments alone or with friends.
The significance of these pictures emerges in retrospect. I realize as I look at them, that I created a visual life story of Alison, capturing moments in her metamorphosis from infant to woman-her relationships with friends, her rebellion, and underlying it all, her relationship with me, a constant throughout her life. I wanted to photograph her in all her extremes, and to be part of these times in her life without judging or censoring. Only in this way would I have a true portrait of Alison.
Jack Radcliffe is a Professor of Photography at Goucher College in Towson, Maryland. He was the recipient of multiple grants from the Baltimore City Arts Council and was nominated for the New York Times Press Award “Picture of the Year” in 2000. His work has been featured in many publications including the Los Angeles Times, the Baltimore Sun, The Photo Review and the Russian edition of Esquire. His photography is part of multiple permanent collections across the country including that of The Baltimore Museum of Art, the University of Arkansas Art Gallery, and Corcoran Gallery of Art in Wasington, DC.