Sean Stone
For many of us, the worry-free simplicity of two beings physically connecting is no longer the norm. Seeing touch—captured in seconds—can make us pause, especially these days.
Through photography, Sean Stone captures many forms of connection, just two beings interacting. He takes photographs around the world, from Nairobi to Newfoundland and even from his own backyard.
This body of Sean’s work visualizes touch—skin on skin. Possibly the urgent connection our society craves after the structured distancing we experienced due to the pandemic of Covid-19.
Mother 1 and Mother 2 show the effect of touch in a way it naturally happens between two animals. At the same time, these photographs visualize the importance of being connected to our humanity. We all, including animals, need physical and emotional attention, and these images make it easy to understand how simple and native affection can be. The simple intention of being here for one another. Listening, caring, or as in Generation Jump, lending a helping and supporting hand.
In all these four samples of Sean’s work, you cannot miss the authentic playfulness, the lifelines you can feel, the joy of being present in this exact moment, and the possibility of sharing it with another person. The curiosity and joy of wanting to capture one specific moment of connection can be observed in A Moment Captured. We withness both a bond between two friends and also between a cat and its kitten. Every living being in this photograph is fully in their moment, aware of the created connection.
Sean’s specific, almost nonchalant way of capturing life happenings reminds us of the work of the Hungarian photographer André Kertesz (1894-1985). Both artists have a unique sense and talent of seeing and locking a timely moment that many other people might not even notice.
In high school, Sean Stone started his photographic journey, shooting and developing his black and white images for his school newspaper. He continued this passion throughout university, shooting special events for Simpsons Department store. Throughout his career in theatre lighting design and 30 years of teaching Theatre Arts, his love of photography has never diminished. Sean enjoys capturing beautiful images more than ever.
Sean Stone is the Silver Artist of the ArtAscent Connections call for artists. To see the full body of work and profile, get a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal Connections issue.
