The loss of a parent affects people in different ways, and photographer Ryan Berger lost any drive to make photos after the death of his mother. The idea of trying to do a show was nowhere in my head for a very long time,” he told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.
In fact, the last show he did was pre-Covid at Tampa Heights’ Cafe Hey. It featured some of his favorite bands, including emo outfit Blacksmith, which also broke up and went on hiatus, with some members eventually starting a new group, Postdrome.
One Postdrome lyric, “there’s no way out but through,” spoke to him and epitomized Berger’s headspace since the loss of his mother. The song even inspired him to make photos and put together another show, but under one condition: “Postdrome had to play, after all the show was named after lyrics from one of their songs,” Berger added.
The band agreed and Blacksmith even decided to get back together for the show which opens at Department of Contemporary Art Tampa, FL in Ybor City this weekend.
Have a look at selects from the show below.
