Trust

This January, Loakal presents “Trust,” a two-person show featuring Oakland-based photographers Brittani Sensabaugh (also known as Brittsense) and Rian Dundon, on view January 3 through February 4. In both of their bodies of work, Sensabaugh and Dundon expose various social strata, examining parts of society rarely shown in the media, described in novels or dramatized in films. Though Sensabaugh’s body of work takes place in Oakland, CA and Dundon’s in Changsha, China, the two artists share a similarly sensitive approach to photographing people in unadorned, urban environments. They neither idealize their subjects, nor attempt to make them emissaries. Rather, the two artists deliver honest vignettes of lives they may not otherwise be able to enter.

Rian Dundon spent six years (2005-2011) living in the cities of Changsha and Jishou, both major Chinese cities that fall outside the Western media’s gaze. Dundon arrived in China without a specific plan or even Chinese language skills, but slowly got to know the residents of Changsha by embedding himself in the city’s social fabric. He exposes Chinese youth culture — from skateboarding to clubs to drug use — that falls outside of the Western narrative of life in China, building his work on a foundation of trust between him and his subjects.

Brittani Sensabaugh’s work, too, is predicated on trust. An Oakland native, the artist recently relocated to New York and was struck by her city’s negative reputation in other parts of the country. Upon returning home, she sought to capture the daily lives of Oakland citizens. As Oakland’s historically African American population becomes increasingly displaced by the influx of new, affluent residents, Sensabaugh pauses to photograph intimate family moments, street scenes and emotive portraits.

About Rian Dundon:
Rian Dundon (born 1980) is a photographer from Oakland, California. In 2005 he moved to China’s Hunan Province to teach English. His first book, Changsha, is a record of the 6 years he lived and worked there. Dundon’s photographs have appeared in a number of magazines, books and newspapers, and have been exhibited in places like Beijing, London, Siem Reap and New York. He is a graduate of the Social Documentation masters program at UC Santa Cruz and is honored to have lectured or taught courses in photography at UCSC, The International Center of Photography, New York University and the San Francisco Art Institute. He is currently putting the finishing touches on a new book about celebrity culture in China, and shooting new projects near home.

About Brittani Sensabaugh:

Brittani Sensabaugh (born 1989) is a New York-based photographer originally from Oakland, CA. In 2007, her brother gave her her first camera. After his death two years later, Sensabaugh relocated to New York to pursue her photography career. “My main mission is to leave a positive impact with my photography by showing the reality of many situations that are overlooked,” she said. “Each day I go out and shoot the world I realize there are many stories that need to be told and voices that should be heard.” She is currently working on a photography book focused on Oakland titled 222 Movement dedicated to “anyone that is grinding and creating, putting unlimited passion into their craft, working towards turning all their dreams into a reality and continuing to move out of love, happiness, and positivity no matter what life throws at them.”