New, photographic images by Jessica Wager will be on exhibit from May 19 through August 31 in the Williams Gallery located in the Williams School of Commerce, Economics, and Politics at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia.  A reception will be given on Saturday, May 19, at 5:30 p.m. in the Williams School. The public is invited to attend.

            The artist states that “my photographs of the people of Hazard, KY, Rockbridge County, VA, and New York, NY, and the truckers of Ruther-Glen, VA, are straightforward and simple portraits of the most honest and unrestrained individuals I have ever met.  With this work I am striving to communicate that impression and to make apparent that with each photograph I am documenting a shared emotional connection between the photographer and the subject. All of my subjects most graciously allow me into their thoughts, and each portrait is representative of this exchange of emotional investment. In addition, I am trying to convey how each person’s environment has shaped them and how each person continues to consciously imbed their environment within their thoughts, mannerisms and social relations.”

            All three photographic series were created within the last year and a half. The Rockbridge County, VA, and New York, NY, series was constructed for an internship and independent study research project to show the contrast between rural Rockbridge inhabitants and urban New York homeless. The Hazard, KY Appalachian series was a product of an internship with Shelby Lee Adams where the artist accompanied him as an assistant on a two week expedition through the mountains of Kentucky. The Ruther Glen trucker series is a result of a year and a half long occupation at the Petro off I-95 in Ruther Glen, VA; it is an ongoing series.

            The artist currently attends Randolph Macon College in Ashland, VA, with a double major in Art History and Studio Art, with a concentration in photography. With plans to graduate in December of 2007, the artist hopes to continue her work with photography while also maintaining a gallery or museum position.

            The Williams Gallery is located in the Williams School of Commerce, Economics, and Politics on the campus of Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia.  The gallery is open from 8:00 a.m. to midnight, Monday through Sunday.