The Lives of Others

James Carroll's photographs, taken on the streets of the United States over the course of more than forty years, form a unique compilation of historical Americana. Driven by a need to preserve memories of his own and others' experiences, and by what curator and author Sean Corcoran describes as 'his longing to see, to know and to understand', Carroll explores the transience of human life and relationships. A quiet and keen observer, Carroll knows how to distil, through his lens, the profound in ordinary moments. His photographs speak of loneliness and friendship, sadness and joy, as well as childhood and adulthood in all their complexity. The images lead us from a documentary approach to a more subjective sphere in which the author imagines new scenarios in chance encounters, while at the same time commenting on the American setting. A political dimension also unfolds through some of his images, telling of economic and racial disparities in both metropolitan and suburban areas. Most of the photographs in The Lives of Others were taken with the Leica M3. The majority of the images are published here for the first time.