Rodeo Boys A photography project by Jack Sorokin
Jack Sorokin is a North Carolina-based photographer, whose deeply compelling documentary work poetically examines the connection that people share, both with one another and with their environment.
Rodeo Boys, his ongoing project, displays the skill and artistry that underpins his practice. Captured both on digital and medium-format film, his images reveal an impressive apperception of light and a painterly eye for color, with understated hues that evoke the work of chromatic pioneers like Eggleston, Meyerowitz, and Shore.
Generations of riders are pictured in various contexts: ephemeral moments of quiet solitude, amity, and prayer, or, in the heat of battle, locked in a tempestuous embrace with an untamed beast. He distills the essence of each scene with extraordinary clarity, laying bare the complexities of the subjects – their strength, and vulnerability; their fear and bravery – thus challenging schematic definitions of masculinity.
– The Independent Photographer Editors
Since 2017 I have been photographing at the local rodeo in Madison County, North Carolina, USA. I went there at first having never been to a rodeo at all. I have returned countless times since to photograph the boys and men that inhabit that mountain top arena every other Saturday night.
Throughout my photographic career, I’ve been interested in exploring themes of masculinity and vulnerability. The rodeo proved to be a potent microcosm in that regard. I hope my images provide a nuanced and empathetic eye towards the people I photograph.
