Stephen Dupont’s haunting portraits capture life beyond the frame

• Henry Zwartz

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© Stephen Dupont. Urista Korimbun and baby Bono Korimbun, Govermas Village, Middle Sepik, PNG, 2011. Courtesy of the artist and STILLS Gallery, Sydney.

Australian photographer Stephen Dupont has won myriad awards and worked around the world, including in Afghanistan, Cuba, India and Papua New Guinea, capturing issues from war to everyday life.

© Stephen Dupont. Untitled #03, India Kumbh Mela, 2010. Courtesy of the artist and STILLS Gallery, Sydney.

Dupont spoke to Fairfax Media about his ongoing project White Sheet Series, which showcases diverse individuals from everyday life placed against a white sheet backdrop – as if in a formal studio setting.

Tell me about your White Sheet Series – give us some context as to how these images came about?

Back in 2006 I was in Afghanistan, finishing off a project around heroin addiction, and on my last day I chose to make a series of portraits of Afghans on the street with 100 Polaroid sheets of film that I had with me. I made one photo per person, gave the Polaroid to the subjects and kept the negative film. I borrowed a local street studio photographer’s backdrop to make my photographs, and as I was shooting I realised the impact the crowd around the sitter was giving me.

It made for a really compelling and intriguing set of pictures that went on to inspire me to work with a white sheet backdrop in other places around the world. Over time I made a series of portraits of different people and cultures using a single white bed sheet, originally stolen from my hotel room in Hardwar [or Haridwar, India] while I was capturing my Sadhu portraits during the Kumbh Mela festival there. The inspiration for this approach comes from early 19th century and ethnographical photography, except that instead of just focusing on the sitter I am equally interested in what happens around the frame: the spontaneous moments that may occur during the shoot; people holding up the bed sheet, a crowd gathering to watch, or a dog passing by.

© Stephen Dupont. Untitled #01, Havana, Cuba, 2013. Courtesy of the artist and STILLS Gallery, Sydney.

Some of your work is black-and-white (and it looks to me like medium or large format film). Why and when do you choose to shoot monochrome? And if you're using film, why use it?

All the photographs are shot on medium and large format cameras on film, a mixture of film and Polaroid negative. I became a photographer through the love of film, grain and contact sheets, and black-and-white was the medium that inspired me most to explore the world of photography. The large format gives such an incredible detail and texture that just does not exist with digital. Somehow the photographs appear much more layered and real – not perfect, which I like. It’s the imperfections of film that make it so special for me.

Why use a white sheet? Do you see it as a mobile blank canvas?

The white sheet comes from the traditional studio backdrop, I suppose; yet I wanted to make it work in a field context and have my subjects isolated. Yet the sheet becomes as important as the subject. I like the sculptural form and haphazardness of the sheet, and it opens up more layers within my frames: the sitter, the sheet, the background and the foreground. It also adds a formal authenticity, and the sitters feel a sense of pride and honour to pose.
There is a great variety to your series. Why spread this out over different locations and cultures?

It is an ongoing project that I am working on and I feel that the variety of subjects and cultures makes the series much more interesting and engaging. I am personally interested in exploring different cultures and people, and I want my photographs to engage the audience in a similar way, not just to highlight the "other" but also to offer a story within each frame about the main subject and the environment that person lives in. For me it is the ultimate form of true environmental portraiture.

A lot of what you've documented is based on documenting conflict ... do you see this series as markedly different?

I think there’s still always a sense of underlying conflict in my works here. I am certainly trying to offer a very humanistic view of my subjects, knowing that the collaboration is mutual and creative. I try to capture the dignity and personality of each person, or at least offer a window into their lives by revealing a passing moment, a gesture or reaction. There is conflict in all, whether it is dealing with detribalisation, social change or identity.

© Stephen Dupont. Untitled #02, Randwick Races, 2016. Courtesy of the artist and STILLS Gallery, Sydney.

The white sheet is the only continuous aspect of this series ... it's quite interesting to see different people "interacting" with the sheet differently. Is this part of the idea?

A big part of my approach to the series is to see what happens naturally around the frame. Whether it is a reaction from the sitter or something happening from the people holding up the sheet, I am waiting to capture a moment that might define the subject, the audience and the environment in such a way as to offer up a story, a mystery and a feeling. These photographs have many layers and I would like that people who gaze at them to really look inside, not just at the sitter but at all the other little elements and moments that make up each tapestry of self and identity.

Stephen Dupont’s White Sheet Series is now showing at Stills Gallery, Sydney until December 23. There will be an artist talk at the gallery on Saturday, November 19, at 2pm.