Some couples break up to make up, but Boston-based artist Laura Beth Reese breaks up (not intentionally, of course) and photographs. “Her work is autobiographical: she photographs people that occupy her life one way or another, for better or worse,” an artist statement informs us — and that couldn’t be more evident than in the photo series Ex-Boyfriends, which we first spotted on Illusion. The portraits of former lovers are intimate and vulnerable with a hint of awkwardness. The old beaus recline on a bed with tousled hair, half-dressed. The history of these relationships is evident in the gaze of the exes — proving that sometimes the past never leaves us completely.
Photo credit: Laura Beth Reese
James, four months. Reese was 27.
Photo credit: Laura Beth Reese
Quinn, 1.5 years. Reese was 25.
Photo credit: Laura Beth Reese
Drew, one year. Reese was 18.
Photo credit: Laura Beth Reese
Shea, one year. Reese was 16.
Photo credit: Laura Beth Reese
John, eight months. Reese was 22.
Photo credit: Laura Beth Reese
Jared, two months. Reese was 19.
Photo credit: Laura Beth Reese
Chris, five months. Reese was 23.
Photo credit: Laura Beth Reese
Ian, three months. Reese was 12.
Photo credit: Laura Beth Reese
Photo credit: Laura Beth Reese
The artist
