SPOKANE, WA – Most things in life are rarely all black or white. There is a lot of gray area. However, an art show opening next week is mostly black and white. It’s a look back from Rajah Bose’s so-called ‘middle life.’
“I never thought I would consider any moment of my life as middle life but by the years I guess I’m there,” said Bose. “What was that all about, you know. What was this 20 years all about. It just kind of came and went all of a sudden.”
An artist by nature and a professional photographer by trade, for Bose it all started in print journalism.
“I ended up working in the Tri-Cities for about three and a half years,” said Bose. “It really set the tone for my work after that and even today.”
From photojournalism to teaching to commercial work for big name companies like Alaska Airlines and WSU – now, Middlelife is a chance to highlight the last two decades of Bose’s life.
“What photography can do and how can do you get your images in front of people so that they actually take a second to look at it,” said Bose.
He spent months digging through upwards of a million photos in his archives. Many of the images you will recognize as being from eastern Washington. 50,000 photos will fill the gallery and they’re personal, too.
“My parents are in there. My brother and sister are in there because this is a personal story,” said Bose. “But there are a lot of images in there that are emotionally resonating because I took them. I met them. This soldier was shipping off to Iraq and he’s hugging his child. There’s pictures of people who just lost loved ones. There’s a few joyful images, too.”
middlelife is meant to make you feel and to think about memory, journalism and how we document our own lives.
“I really hope people pause and think about that we can actually observe our lives and those around us and it doesn’t have to be looking at ourselves all the time,” said Bose. “Even though I’m in a few of the photos… I’m in all of the photos.”
This will be Bose’s second ever art show. The first was about 20 years ago during his time in Tri-Cities.
middlelife opens Tuesday, February 8th and runs through March 25th. It is in the Visual Arts Bryan Oliver Gallery on the Whitworth campus in Spokane.
More details on the show HERE
More information on Bose HERE
