Joey Solomon: A Racket of Echoes
Self After Second Tissue Biopsy © Joey Solomon
On May 7, 2018, around the end of his Junior year of college, Joey Solomon contracted a fever of 103 degrees that lasted for twenty-one days. What Solomon believed to be a cold would reveal something much worse — an oblong tumor entangled in his sciatic nerve. This discovery would lead to him being hospitalized for two months.
In his series A Racket of Echoes, Joey Solomon chronicles a period in his life that proved to be both physically and mentally traumatic for him. The series transitions slowly from documentation of his hospitalization to ethereal moments in between. There are moments of a world covered in darkness, and serene moments of friends swimming underwater in a pool, ultimately concluding with his eventual release and rehabilitation.
My First Wheelchair © Joey Solomon
According to Solomon, “A Racket of Echoes” is what he describes as wild banging sounds he heard in his head during times of mental crisis and his near-death experience.
“My mind is racing,” he said. “My thoughts are too loud for my emotional wellbeing, it feels like a racket of echoes.”
When he was hospitalized, Solomon took these photographs believing they would be the last photographic evidence of his life. However, when he realized that he was not going to die, the documentation turned into a healing project that gave his life meaning.
The photographs taken of Solomon’s stay in the hospital are haunting. Here, he demonstrates not only the fragility of human life, but the fragility of human bodies as well. When witnessing such a harrowing period for Solomon, even in photographs, one could surely reflect on their own physical health, mental health, and more importantly, their inevitable death.
Sinking Body © Joey Solomon
Nevertheless, some of the most powerful moments in A Racket of Echoes come from the images involving Solomon’s parents. Even though it is him in the hospital bed, his parents are there by his side, experiencing their own trauma. One image that stands out is an up-close portrait of Solomon’s mother — who he had previously photographed for his series Portraits of My Mother. Her face is covered in intense light and shadow, and she looks away from the camera. Her expression is stoic, as well as vulnerable. By including his parents in the series, Solomon is letting them know that they are in this together. Using photography has helped him to communicate his unconditional love for them when words cannot fully do so.
Portrait Of Mom © JoeySolomon
There comes a point in A Racket of Echoes when light breaks through the darkness. In spite of the intense concern, one might feel in the beginning, the series departs from the sterile environment of the hospital and into the outside. These photos evoke not sadness, but relief — but also the knowledge that trauma has still left its mark.
Cat Scan Room © Joey Solomon
Taking the photos that make up A Racket of Echoes kept Solomon emotionally grounded during a distressing time. For him, these pictures were meant to erase the taboos surrounding death and mental illness and in turn, also erases taboos around physical illness and disability. In his artist statement, he said that no one should be uncomfortable to speak about their invisible pain. A Racket of Echoes is a series that helps to silence the wild banging sound in the minds of others who have struggled — it brings them a sense of peace and solidarity instead.
If My Mind Were A Room © Joey Solomon
