CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly attributed the quote on police munition used on protestors to D. Randall Blythe. It was said by Landon Shroder. We have updated the story.
On October 30, the "Our Streets" photography exhibit opens at The Slowdrive Gallery in Norfolk, Virginia. The exhibit displays works from the Wild Bunch Photography Collective as they documented the protests in Richmond following the killing of George Floyd.
“The Wild Bunch is kind of an amalgamation of photographers that were out there the entire time,” said Landon Shroder, gallery co-curator and RVA Magazine managing partner.
The protests began in June and lasted weeks. “These are photographers that took the risk to be out there night after night, day after day, to be able to document this struggle for racial justice and police reform in Richmond,” Shroder remarked.
The exhibition features photographs of police violence and solidarity among protestors.
“When the police start firing 40 millimeter sponge grenades, letting loose tear gas, concussive munitions, these are items that are used for crowd suppression, so if we are in an environment of crowd suppression, we are in a kinetic tactical environment,” said Shroder “First things first is everybody's safety is paramount in that situation.”
D. Randall Blythe, gallery co-curated and Lamb of God vocalist is no stranger to protest photography. He protested at Standing Rock in North Dakota, environmental protests in California, and the red shirt protests in Thailand.
“In New York City, the night of my first gallery opening ever actually, there was a massive protest right outside the gallery in New York, so I had to [document it],” recalled Bltythe.
“My goal with the gallery exhibit is to provoke both deep thought and reflection and open discussion,” Blythe said. “Because I'm not really afraid of how people are going to interpret these images, that's, you know, that's not my job. My job is to reflect the times.”
The exhibit is open for two months and will showcase 3 - 4 photographs per contributor. The photographs fall under one of five categories: Police Violence, Solidarity, Removal of Statues, Quiet Moments and Portraits. Each of the photographers has their own reason for participating in and documenting the protests this summer. The Wild Bunch Photography Collective is just that: a collective of wildly-dedicated activists and documentarians, hoping to shed light on the events of Richmond’s summer protests.
