"No one applauds you": An American History of Depression from photographer Alec Dawson

Alec Dowson, a photographer from the United States, is seriously interested in the topic of depression, which he calls "emotional cancer". This interest is far from idle — the master is looking for new methods of art therapy for this unpleasant condition, which has become a real scourge of American society. Anxiety, apathy, constant regret about something, the need for solitude-all this is reflected in his series of works "No one applauds you".

Looking at Dawson's works on the depressive states of Americans, it is hard to believe that they can have a therapeutic effect. But in fact, "No one applauds you" has a good effect on people who are in a depressed state.

Many of those who got acquainted with Alec's works claim that they recognized themselves in his characters and felt relieved. With his pictures, the photographer makes it clear to everyone who has lost heart that he is not alone in this world and there are thousands of people around him with the same problems who also revel in their condition. Maybe this seems like a weak consolation for those who are in real despair, but for most whose problems are far-fetched or can be solved without much effort, Dawson's photos can be an impetus to get out of depression.

To give his plots maximum tragedy, Alec Dawson plays with light. Thanks to this, the characters of his photo are a little theatrical, and the scenes themselves resemble frames from horror films. This way of emphasizing the tragedy of the situation affects the viewer exactly the opposite, and this is what the author of the project strives for.

The heroes of "No One applauds you" are emphatically unhappy — they are not only morally oppressed, but also untidy, disheveled and surrounded by disorder. Those around them do not understand and do not want to comfort them, and, of course, they will not see applause.

Recently, photo artists are increasingly concerned about socio-social problems and the result of this interest is powerful projects, such as a series of works by Joel Pares dedicated to prejudices and stereotypes.