Brian Ulrich

Ulrich's Copia series involves a typical rhetoric of 'consumer waste' and abandoned buildings, but they really have an unexpected drama. The candid thrift store shots are lit suspiciously well and the store buildings particularly remind me of my own hometown. They're not overly political, some are even sort of sweet. Thrift store portraits are really great.

He says:

Through large scale photographs taken within both the big-box retail stores, and the thrift shops that house our recycled goods, Copia explores not only the everyday activities of shopping, but the economic, cultural, social, and political implications of commercialism and the roles we play in self-destruction, over consumption, and as targets of marketing and advertising. By scrutinizing these rituals and their environments, I hope that viewers will evaluate the increasing complexities of the modern world and their role within it.