Kathryn Mussallem

Photographer
 
Hey Sailor! New in Town?
Location: Vancouver BC
Nationality: Canadian
Biography: An exhibiting photographer, printmaker and illustrator with work published and exhibited in Canada, the US, the UK and Europe. Recent group exhibitions include New York NY, Minneapolis MN, Saint Remy de Provence France, Leiden Netherlands, London... MORE
Public Story
Hey Sailor! New in Town?
Copyright Kathryn Mussallem 2024
Date of Work May 2011 - Ongoing
Updated Dec 2019
Topics Black and White, Documentary, Fine Art, Happiness, Love, Military, Photography, Photojournalism, Portraiture, Street

I was on a safari to start, behind the protection of my lens, when I witnessed tradition and trouble sail into town: My first experience was Fleet Week New York, the Navy showed off its might; the sailors performed their roles both on duty and off. Women fawned over this invasion of youthful capable bravado.

As part of this ongoing immersive documentary project, this labour of love, I have spent the last six years travelling across America chasing sailors, from the public events of Fleet Weeks, the back rooms of dive bars to spending days at sea aboard ship. I transformed quickly from outsider and observer to insider and instigator, shenanigans and salty talk always follow.

I have always had a thing for sailors, their silly white bell-bottomed uniforms, iconic and steeped in tradition and more than a little ridiculous. The background players in every 1940's or 50's film, the mascots on a Crackerjack box, sailors dressed with neckerchiefs and Dixie cups seemed like a camp throwback to another era, the players in a cartoon or a musical. As a Canadian my interest may have started as a fascination with this exotic brand of hyperbolic American patriotism but as I went from judgmental outsider full of prejudice to a friend, lover, and insider. The stereotype that lured me in became more complex and these sailors became my world.

In the tradition of street photography I am on the hunt. As I reverse the male gaze and photograph at an intimate distance, I make these full-grown men and heroes nervous. I am putting a face and a personality onto the generic uniformed military man that is perceived as a number in a fleet or army of anonymous troops sent off into battle. I am showing these dynamic (sometimes ridiculous) characters that work hard and play even harder. Nostalgia, cliché and humour guide the viewer through my adventures.

I put on my bright red lipstick, slip on my bright red high heels, I hit the street, I see these boys in white and with giddy excitement I approach"¦ "Hey sailor! New in town?"

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