BESTOLE:

BESTOLE: to steal away, escape, or come secretly.

This body of work unfolds in three movements.

The journey began as a curiosity about light and shadow. What would a portrait look like if the subject was captured in shadow, yet drawn toward a narrow piece of light living around them? While this question informed the technique, it was only the beginning.

The second movement was shaped through conversations with the UNDIVIDED team, opening the door to explore the immigrant story. In many ways, the journey of the immigrant happens in the shadows, in the quiet, and often in secret. Many of the subjects here have journeyed across borders—carrying with them stories of courage, displacement, and hope.

The third act is the one that truly brought the work to life. It unfolded through the pages of Theo of Golden. It tells the story of a mysterious, one-named man—Theo—who invites strangers to sit with him and receive the gift of a portrait. At one point he says, “I just sit with them long enough to see themselves.” He refers to these encounters as “the bestowal.”

In this act, we explored the many unseen passages that shape a life: crises of faith, departures from biker gangs, battles with cancer, gunshot wounds, the rise and fall of stardom, and other deeply personal journeys. 

As each subject was invited to sit before the camera, the invitation and intention was the same: to steal away for a moment…to reach inward…to allow something hidden to rise quietly to the surface. 

The imagery is simple, yet complex.

I invite you to sit with a (one) portrait long enough to see something of yourself.

Slow down.
Get quiet.
Commune with a portrait.
Let it speak.

-JONBOB