Al J Thompson: Remnants of an Exodus
Remnants of an Exodus
September 2 - October 2, 2021
Blue Sky is pleased to announce Remnants of an Exodus, an exhibition by Al J Thompson featuring photographs from his first monograph of the same name. Remnants of an Exodus is a love letter to Thompson's second home — Spring Valley, NY, a Caribbean immigrant community, 40 minutes from New York City. Thompson observes and experiences change firsthand, as the community undergoes a dramatic shift in both demographic and political landscapes. In turn, he finds Spring Valley fraught with insecurity and uncertainty but bound by love.
Al J Thompson, Geese in Water, 2018
Al J Tompson, Looking Up, 2018
Al J Thompson (Jamaican-born, b.1980) settled in the immigrant community of Spring Valley, New York in 1996. His time spent in college studying Graphic Arts helped shape his core values in visual communication and community. Seeing the apparent decline in his old neighborhood eventually led him to his first monograph, Remnants of an Exodus.
Thompson has been involved with a number of group exhibits and commissioned for companies such as Weill Cornell University, Under Armour, Moët Hennessy, NYC GO, Kaiser Health News, The New Yorker, New York Times Magazine, and New York Times. His work made several appearances in PDN, BOOOOOOOM, Lenscratch, British Journal of Photography, The Guardian, National Geographic, Italian Vogue, NPR, Buzzfeed, Lensculture, Rocket Science, Float Magazine, GUP, C-41, among others.
The case bound, 104 page book with a red PVC insert, is comprised of 55 black and white photographs made over several years. Copies of the book will be available for purchase at Blue Sky and online at Gnomic Book.
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Check out this March 2021 article from NPR’s Photo Stories on the debut of Thompson’s, Remnants of An Exodus.