Kevin Bennett Moore is a recent graduate with Departmental Honors from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston. His self-portrait-based projects largely discuss queerness by utilizing the past to talk about current politics.

Moore won the Fujifilm Students of Storytelling competition for his photo series that was inspired by his childhood home. His images delve into the ambiguity that comes with being a child, what lies ahead and what happens in the unknown.

Fujifilm created the contest to identify the next generation of U.S. storytellers, and to provide them with Fujifilm X Series or GFX System gear to bring their vision to life.

Rangefinder: What interests you as a storyteller? Which stories are you drawn to?

Kevin Bennett Moore: I’m interested in stories that are created to provoke the viewer and/or demand analysis.

Rf: What stories do you want to share through your work?

KBM: Through my work, I like to create narratives that are a response to my own experiences.

Rf: Describe the evolution of your style and approach. How and why has it changed over time? Who has influenced your work?

KBM: I feel that I have always worked in a similar style, but definitely have evolved closer to what I imagine my end goal to be. Looking at the work of William Eggleston, I initially aimed at creating work that looked and felt as if it was from the 1960’s era. As I learned more about photography, I realized that I could utilize the past and its cultural references in order to create a world that was my own.

Rf: What are the key things you have learned or done that have helped you advance your career since you began photographing?

KBM: At the top of my list would be going to school for photography and researching mid-century American culture.

Rf: What is the most helpful piece of advice you’ve received and followed? Who gave it to you?

KBM: My professor, Steve Tourlentes, recently told me that, “Although [I] find myself working with similar ideas as some artists, the work [I] make will always be [my] take.” This advice has continued to help me stay focused.

Rf: What are you hoping to achieve through your work?

KBM: I always hope that my work will leave an impression on the viewer. I would like people to ask questions and be able to discuss the imagery while also projecting their own ideas onto the photographs.

Rf: How do you stage your shoots?

KBM: The ideas are typically sketched out in a notebook first, and then if those ideas can be achieved, I’ll start collecting items needed for the photographs. Depending on the scene, I will build a set or scout out a location.

Rf: In what ways do you see this shoot informing future shoots?

KBM: Each photograph is a test for myself to see how well I can execute the idea from start to finish. Therefore, I feel like each photo informs future works and raises the threshold for me to make more complex pictures.

Rf: How have your studies affected your approach to photography and storytelling?

KBM: My studies have greatly affected my approach to photography by allowing me a space to not only be vulnerable, but also to ask questions and learn from each photograph. MassArt’s photography department influenced my practice today by teaching me to think critically and to constantly seek out new information; that definitely moves the work forward.

Rf: Can you tell us about your submission to Fujifilm’s Students of Storytelling program? How you came up with the project?

KBM: Sheltering in place at my childhood home, I was thinking about making work that could interpret my time spent here when I was younger. I knew I didn’t want the work to be illustrative of my childhood, but more so an ambiguous interpretation that incorporated my previous work and still played with themes like Americana and queerness.

Rf: What works have you produced with your new Fujifilm systems?

KBM: So far, I have produced four photographs that I can see working in the final sequence of my project.

Rf: Where do you see your work going from here?

KBM: I want the photographs to maintain the aesthetics that I have been working with but be driven more by emotion. I would like to build bigger sets and have more characters in the work down the line.

Rf: Which brand, media outlet or agency is your ideal client? And why?

KBM: If I were to take pictures in a commercial setting, it would be a brand more geared to the fashion industry. I think my photographs could easily translate into campaign work.

Visit the official Fujifilm Students of Storytelling site for more information about the complete program. Follow @_kevinbennett to stay up to date with Kevin Bennett Moore.