Quiet Poetry
The book “Hardtack” by Rahim Fortune uncovers ten years of portraiture rooted in the history and landscape of the American South.
Hardtack is the name of an American Civil-War era cracker, made of flour, water and salt. The photographer draws from this food associated with survivalism, land migration, and a long shelf life to talk about the resilience of black culture and traditions from Texas to Oklahoma, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina.
Windmill House, Hutto, Texas, 2022
Praying Cowboy, Gladewater, Texas, 2021
VHS Television, Dallas, Texas, 2021
Abandoned Church, Otter Creek, Florida, 2020
Mother & Daugthers, Austin, Texas, 2021
Rahim Fortune borrows from the language of vernacular photography to interrogate the relationship of his community to photography. Shots of coming-of-age traditions like bull-riding, praise dancing and beauty pageants mix with portraits of families, workers, frames contemplating desolate spaces and details of traces left behind.
Grandma’s Hands, Houston, Texas, 2020
Brackish Water, Otter Creek, Florida, 2020
Jimmy, Beaumont, Texas, 2022
Demolished School, Edna, Texas, 2022
Roger’s Hands, Charleston, South Carolina, 2021
