David Ricci: Hunter Gatherer: Salvaged Stories of American Culture

The inanimate tableaux of American resale marketplaces illuminate the evils of the past embedded in collectible objects

American photographer David Ricci spent seven years traveling across the US making photographs at antique malls and fairs, curio shops, thrift stores and other sites where consumer goods from the past are offered for resale. The images in Hunter Gatherer expose the hidden underbelly of American resale marketplaces and cast a light on the country's historical biases and stereotypes, weaving together a tapestry of racism, objectification, beauty standards, Christianity and consumerism. Ricci photographed these objects, displays and scenes as he found them. Some are humorous--a Catholic nun figurine praying over a Batman Pez dispenser--but the juxtapositions of blatantly racist objects including lawn jockeys, Black mammy figurines, and tomahawk-wielding Native Americans with anodyne items like lamps and bicycles call attention to the darker aspects of present-day America as well as its history. Though no people appear in the images, depictions of human figures suggest thoughts, dialogues and narratives that transform lifeless scenes into animated tableaux. The images in Hunter Gatherer provide a critical lens for examining the underlying values and biases that continue to shape contemporary American society.
David Ricci is a self-taught American photographer whose work explores human relationships with the environment and physical objects. His images function as both historical document and social mirror, compelling viewers to examine the characteristics of American society and material culture. His monograph, EDGE (2022) received the Foreword Indies gold award in photography. His photographs have been exhibited in numerous solo exhibitions and are held in several permanent collections including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Fogg Museum at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA; Winnipeg Art Gallery; Hyde Collection, Glans Falls, NY; Danforth Museum, Framingham, MA; and Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, MA.