Exhibitions

 

GALLERY ETHER is pleased to present “A Period of Juvenile Prosperity”, a selection of 24 photographs from the titular series by American photographer Mike Brodie, aka the Polaroid Kidd, taken between 2006 and 2008 while freighthopping across the United States.

After seeing a young couple huddled together on a passing freight car, Brodie began freighthopping in 2003 at the age of just 18 years old. Initially shooting portrait oriented Polaroids that earned him the moniker “The Polaroid Kidd”, Brodie eventually switched to 35mm around 2005, gaining the freedom to, in the artist’s words, “shoot more candidly and truly capture real moments, not staged portraits." The candid and raw yet tender images of vagabonds, hobos, squatters, and fellow freighthoppers captured while freighthopping across the United States from around 2006 to 2008 were later exhibited internationally to much acclaim and published as “A Period of Juvenile Prosperity” by Twin Palms Publishers. “A Period of Juvenile Prosperity” was named the best exhibition of the year by Vince Aletti in Artforum; and cited as one of the best photo books of 2013 by “The Guardian”, “The New York Times”, “The Telegraph”, and “American Photo”; as well as being short-listed for the Paris Photo/Aperture Foundation First PhotoBook Award.

An opening reception will be held on Saturday, November 22nd, from 5:00 to 8:00 PM.

Artists

Mike Brodie

Mike Brodie, aka the "Polaroid Kidd", is an American photographer born in 1985. Initially using a Polaroid SX-70 given to him by a friend before switching to 35mm, Brodie documented his experiences and the people he met while freighthopping across the US from 2004 to 2008, mostly vagabonds, hobos, squatters, and other train-hoppers. Later, stepping away from the limelight, he studied and graduated from the Nashville Auto-Diesel College in 2009, and after working as a diesel mechanic for a time, at last returned to the rails and photography.