RYAN MITCHELL | Self Portrait 1, 2024

“Fragments” is an exploration of memory. Culminating into frustration, anger, and violence that leads to the emotional withdrawal and physical stress from service experiences. Within this series are collaged photographs taken deployments; arranged into fragments of dreamlike recollections, a longing for combat and a yearning of self-worth. Of goals never achieved, training for a war that will never see the fruition of experiences. Facing the transitional phase of being thrown out into a world after the military, memories now haunt you with regret and self-doubt of never realizing your full potential to come to terms with seeking out a purpose.

BIO

Ryan Mitchell is a New York-based photographer and former military veteran. He has a BFA in Film and Television from Savannah’s College of Art and Design. He is currently a graduate student at Syracuse University pursuing an MFA in Art Photography. His images have been published in various publications such as F-Stop Magazine, Undivided, and Perception. In 2024 his series was a finalist for Hand Magazine’s Ten Years out of Hand Publication. He has had his images exhibited in Praxis Gallery, Blank Wall Gallery in Athens, Atlanta Photography Group, and Light Works.