Greenwood: Yellow Lamp

On the things we keep around

Pt. 1 in a series diving deeper into each photo in my show Greenwood, which can be viewed upstairs at Coquette in New Orleans

At some point in my childhood my mom bought me a Yellow Lamp, and it has followed me since. Until recently I’d wondered if perhaps it was too juvenile for an aspiring adult — and then something clicked. I love lamp. Its perfect spherical base and the yellow that can only be described as yellow. Its most basic shade and the chrome neck. The Yellow Lamp had become a fixture in my life long before I came to admire it.

By the time you’re in your 30s, there are maybe 2 or 3 things you keep around with you for their pure nostalgia. I have the Yellow Lamp and the last printed photo of our childhood dog, a chunk missing from the top right corner.

There was never a doubt that my photo of the Yellow Lamp would remain a part of the Greenwood edit. It’s quintessential mchl, a photo of the light and perfectly sentimental, almost too sentimental. When sequencing the show, it felt like the perfect entrance piece. You read the artist statement and are instantly transported directly into my current life, the Yellow Lamp I turn on and off every single evening.

Admittedly, this photo of the Yellow Lamp was shot at the end of a roll — just something to finish it off so I could send it to the lab. But often these end-of-the-rollers are just the right amount of stream-of-consciousness, and will later appear to be the most rooted in an actual story of day-to-day living. So is the case here.

If you like ‘Yellow Lamp’, it is available to purchase at greenwood.show. Payment plans are available as well.

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Behind-the-scenes, super secret, private access

Early on in the design process for the Greenwood poster, there was a beautiful version featuring the Yellow Lamp, and then a successive version of the final poster that also featured the Yellow Lamp. Check ‘em out:

Design by Garrett DeRossett

I still have a limited number of the final version of the poster (not pictured above) available for sale on the Greenwood site. This is the most affordable option if you want a piece of the show :) You can buy one here.