Jess T. Dugan

(Biloxi, Mississippi, 1986 - )

Zach and Oskar at Sunset

2020

Archival pigment print

30 x 40 in. (76.2 x 101.6 cm)

Collection of the Akron Art Museum

Knight Purchase Fund for Photographic Media

2024.22.1

© Jess T. Dugan, Courtesy of the artist

More Information

Dugan has photographed Oskar since the beginning of 2019, many times on his own and many times with his partner Zach. The artist has shared the following: “I'm drawn to Oskar for many reasons- he has a magnetic energy and presence, and is very interested in fashion, so he often presents himself in different ways. He identifies as a gay man, and has a particular combination of masculinity and fluidity around clothing and presentation, though he does not identify as trans or nonbinary. We started working together when he was 19, and now he's 24- even in those 5 years you can see him growing up in the work. This image was made in Tower Grove Park, a 300-acre park across the street from my house where I spend a lot of time and have also made a lot of work. The majority of the outdoor portraits in Look at me like you love me were made in that park. ” Dugan adds that this picture is from 2020, when they were working outside only during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. They add: “In much of my work, I'm interested in a gentle or expansive version of masculinity, and both Zach and Oskar embody this in different ways,” and “I am also interested in photographing at sunset both because it is a liminal, or transitional, time of day and also because it references impending change and our limited time here. Time is a significant aspect of my work as a whole.”