2025 Pratt Photo MFA Thesis Exhibitions Opening: (In truth) Part Three

Please join us on Monday, May 12th, 5-8 pm at the opening reception of Pratt Photo MFA Thesis Exhibition: (In truth) Part Two

Location: Dock72, 3rd Floor Photo Gallery

In truth? curated by Darling Green.
Opening Reception: Monday, May 12th, 5-8 pm

Exhibiting Artists:

Part One - Opening April 28
Aidan McLellan
Liv Dawson
Cléo Sương Mai Richez

Part Two - Opening May 5
Liv Davidson
Matthew Cohn
Jesse Wendelken Brooks
Draven Zhao

In truth—it’s commonplace to say that photography and video pretend to a truth that can never be. But truth persists as a question that these media have to face, and their practitioners have to either embrace or subvert to demonstrate that they are conscious of the dilemma.

In truth, the notion that photography could do justice to a specific moment, capture the veracity of an instant removed from context is a fantasy. The changing politics and value of the image in the past decades, the rise of the internet, and the prevalence of the jpeg (which now, too, seem quaint and passé), and the more recent rise of AI generated images and shortened attention spans, have pushed photography ever more towards being a tool for fiction, a true test of the relativity of perception.

(...)

The third group of K Bodrock, Yujia Ma, Aileen Schretzmayer, and Ming Jin offer us parenthetical statements, images that amend and insert themselves into continuing stories. In Bodrock’s work, play and collaboration become a mechanism for broaching uncomfortable discussions with her family about the past. Her use of framing devices—both literal frames and household items—are settings for a balancing act between her trained photographic eye, and the eyes of her mother, aunt, or cousins, who she invites into the process. Photography, for Yujia Ma, is a way of revisiting a past self, from an interior perspective and the perspective of the other. The impossibility of true recreation leads to the creation of new scenarios, tools which recontextualize memory for adulthood. Aileen Schretzmayer’s photographs take a contrasting view of coming of age—more documentary and formally concerned, where late afternoon light finds young women, and those who are female-identifying, negotiating their places in the world. Many are intimate skin-and-shadow abstractions, showing a deep trust of the person behind the camera. Finally, Ming Jin employs technical confidence to capture fleeting, interstitial moments. Her two series represent the poles of her practice—her works in black and white craft threads of emotional moments, which catch the recurring subject between bracing for an unknown future or enjoying quiet contemplation, while her color works provide a textural counterpoint, immaculately composed, self contained images that can’t help but whisper to one another.

--Darling Green

FINDING DOCK 72

Dock72 is here: 1 Dock 72 Wy, Brooklyn, NY 11205

You will first use your pass to enter the Brooklyn Navy Yard at whichever gate is convenient. You can come by taxi (showing your pass to the guard to enter) but if you drive, you will need to park OUTSIDE the Navy Yard and walk in. There is NO parking at Dock 72.

NOTE: While there is no on-site parking; taxi/ride share drop-off is permitted. Additionally, the building is situated next to the NYC Ferry, Citibike, and there are shuttles available on-site to and from MTA subways stops. For more info, please visit https://www.dock72.com/getting-there/

When you arrive at Dock 72, enter the Lobby and then use your pass at ELEVATOR BANK A to go straight to the Photography section, which is the SECOND elevator bank in the lobby (to the left of the lobby cafe and right in front of the security desk).

At the elevator bank, select Floor 3 on the digital pad which will then indicate which elevator to take.

IMPORTANT ACCESS INFORMATION

Access to the Brooklyn Navy Yard and Dock 72 is strictly limited to those with a visitor pass. All RSVPs will receive an email with instructions on how to obtain a Visitor QR Code Pass, which will be issued on the morning of the event.

You will receive a digital QR pass from DOCK 72 Visitor Check-in (bm9yZXBseSB8IG5nMSAhIGFuZ3VzICEgbXJpc29mdHdhcmUgISBjb20=) valid only for the event date.

Please register each attendee with their email to ensure they receive their unique QR pass.

NOTE: On-site parking is unavailable; however, taxi/ride share drop-offs are allowed. The building is conveniently located next to the NYC Ferry, Citibike stations, and shuttle services to/from nearby MTA subway stops. For additional details, please visit Dock 72 Getting There.

Also check out other Exhibitions in Brooklyn, Arts events in Brooklyn.