Mark McLennan’s No Fences, published by Stanley/Barker, is a deep exploration of the American West, blending intimate portraits, evocative landscapes, and rich details to capture the complexities of this iconic region.
Shot between Southern Alberta and West Texas from 2020 to 2023, McLennan’s work invites us into the heart of the West, offering a fresh perspective on its myths and realities. Through his lens, the West is both a reflection of the past and a living, evolving space, shaped by history, memory, and the forces of change.
The American West has always fascinated. The vast landscapes, the myths of freedom, and the tension between our idealized images and the real lives lived there. No Fences brings this region to life, revealing the layers of meaning beneath the surface of the land and its people.
Utilizing a 4x5 camera, McLennan captures the West with rare depth. The slow, deliberate process of working with this large-format camera brings a unique intimacy to the work, but it also elevates the region into something more refined and profound. This choice encourages us to see the American West not as an idealized myth but as a place worthy of fine art, where light, shadow, and texture transform everyday scenes into compelling works of art.
McLennan’s portraits, often of people who live within the heart of this evolving landscape, feel unguarded and raw and the 4x5 camera also plays a crucial role in this process. The deliberate, slow method of shooting with this camera fosters a deeper engagement with both place and people. It strips away the usual facades, creating a space for authentic interaction, and invites subjects to relax into the frame, revealing moments of rare, unguarded connection.
No Fences spans several regions of the American West, including Southern Alberta, where McLennan grew up, and West Texas, home to a deep cowboy culture. These landscapes, each with its own distinct characteristics, are tied together by McLennan’s personal connection to the land and his understanding of the people who live there. His photographs are not just of wide-open spaces but also of the small, often overlooked details – weathered faces, quiet moments in roadside diners, and the lasting marks of time on both people and place.
At its core, No Fences is about the tensions that shape the American West – between myth and reality, freedom and restriction, past and present. McLennan’s photographs are a meditation on this dynamic, capturing the land’s vast beauty and the people who continue to live within it. Yet, these are not romanticized Hollywood images of cowboys or pristine landscapes. Instead, they reflect the quiet erosion of a mythic past, as modernization slowly closes in.
The photographs in No Fences become progressively darker, reflecting the slow fading of the West’s idealized image. Each page grows more introspective, with shadows deepening and light gradually fading, evoking the land’s transformation. This darkening progression serves as a visual metaphor for the tension between what has been and what remains. However, there is always a flicker of light – a reminder of what still endures.
Stanley/Barker’s production elevates No Fences into an object of beauty in its own right. The design and print quality invite the reader to slow down, to take time with each page. This is a book to be revisited, not rushed through. Each image, each sequence, reveals new layers and textures upon revisiting, deepening the experience.
No Fences by Mark McLennan is available now from Stanley/Barker for $70 / £50.
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