Tamara ReynoldsThe Drake

Tamara Reynolds “weave[s] into [her] compelling images a sense of urgency, so that what might have begun as a private inquiry could assume broader significance in our current moment. This is an exceedingly difficult thing to do, and I am in awe whenever I encounter a body of work that seems to open up new paths towards understanding the world around us.” — Sarah Hermanson Meister, former Curator, Department of Photography, The Museum of Modern Art.

Tamara Reynolds is a documentary photographer whose unflinching eye considers what it means to be human in today’s society. In particular, her work focuses on the lives of those who are usually unseen.

The Drake documents the lives of people existing just above survival on one square block in Nashville, Tennessee. The area is centered on a classic 1940’s motel, The Drake, which has featured in numerous movies over the years and where scores of stars including Elvis Presley and Dolly Parton even stayed in its long-gone heyday.

The work has already received significant acclaim and numerous awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship Grant for 2021, the prestigious Santa Fe Center Project Launch Grant, a Tennessee Arts Commission Individual Artist Grant, a Puffin Grant, and The 2021 BarTur Photo Award: Faces of Humanity. Reynolds was born in Nashville, Tennessee, and has lived there all her life.

Hardcover, 26,5 x 22 cm. Colors photographs.