Venue: Gallery Commune

We are pleased to announce the holding of "Summer Sublet," a photo exhibition by Oakland, California-based photographer Ward Long.
This exhibition will tell the story of a summer Ward experienced after being introduced to Alice, Hannah, Sarah, Bianca, and Kate by a friend, Ara, and moved into a 100-year-old house on Montgomery Street. Ward was captivated by and captivated by the unconventional lifestyles of these women, and this beautiful photo story, filled with kindness, humanity, peace, and serenity, is sure to delight. We look forward to seeing you there.

When I ran out of housing, my friend Ara said there might be an apartment on Montgomery Street, so I moved in with Alice, Hannah, Sarah, Bianca, and Kate. I didn't have any siblings, so I felt out of place being the only boy, and at first I spent my time hiding in my room and trying to make myself invisible.

They cooked together, mixed teas and tinctures and dyed fabric in the backyard, designed costumes for the children's play, wrote songs and poems, tattooed each other late at night, and traded jewelry. They also occasionally read tarot cards, talked about auras, and drew horoscopes, all while keeping an all-terrain bike in the basement. I was completely overwhelmed by the daily physical and emotional intimacy. I still remember the first night we all said "I love you" to each other before bed.

Then, the paintings on the walls, the tattoos on my feet, the scribbles in my notebooks, the poses in the photographs all started to blend, blur, and bleed together. It felt like a fairytale, and I couldn't believe it was real. The caring touch, the openness, the shyness of love, the care, and the messiness—it was all beautiful.
I never wanted to leave here.

Summer Sublet is a story about life with women, female friendships, found furniture on the street, and the glow and fade of youth.
Even now, I still wish you were there.
-Ward Long

Ward Long is a photographer living in Oakland, California, USA. His debut work, "Summer Sublet," published by Deadbeat Club, was named one of the best photobooks of 2020 by photographers such as Alec Soth and Vanessa Winship, as well as art sites such as Lenscratch and American Suburb X. He currently lectures on photography at the San Francisco Art Institute.
www.wardlong.com | @wardlong