Scott Mead: Rites of Passage

Photographer Scott Mead showcases the poignant black-and-white photographs from his archive for the first time, documenting his early adulthood in New England, USA, from 1971 to 1976 and exploring discovery, ritual, rural beauty and urban metropolis.

Photographer Scott Mead, born in 1954 in Washington, D.C., revisits his formative years spent documenting New England, USA, in Rites of Passage for the first time. Shot over a five-year period between 1971 and 1976, we follow Mead through early adulthood and explore scenes of discovery, ritual, rural beauty and urban metropolis.

At a junction between an American road trip and a personal visual diary, Mead’s images depict a world as it was then, shaped by political upheaval, profound civil changes and the Cold War. The tensions embedded in these photographs resonate now amid a fraught social landscape and increasing polarisation. Recent global events gave Mead the opportunity for intense self-reflection as he delved into his photographic archive.

The clothbound hardback book features 100 large-format prints of Mead’s poignant photographs to be considered in a new context. The 35mm black and white images portray life in a time of transition as the viewer’s eyes are drawn into the atmospheric imagery, compositions and textures captured within them. Rites of Passage shows Mead with a camera always at hand and presents his delicate, often amusing and sometimes uneasy portraits alongside cityscapes, landscapes and snapshots of the lives of friends and strangers.

All of the artist’s proceeds from Rites of Passage benefit Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London.