The acclaimed New York-based photographer’s latest book is inspired by the wonders of the night sky and the captivating eyes of loved ones
Chad Moore is best known for his tender, spontaneous pictures of New York’s bright young things, but the American photographer’s latest photo book is a departure from his usual portraits. As the title suggests, Eyes and Skies (published by Super Labo), moves between the micro and the macro as it presents his photographs of sunsets and sunrises, skylines and starry nights alongside his close-up studies of eyes.
What do these two seemingly disparate subjects have in common? They both invite wonder, and a certain amount of gazing. For Moore, whose work is about storytelling and human connection, the night skies resonate with him on the same level as portraiture in their complexity and endless speculative configurations of meaning. Up close, there‘s an obvious correlation between eyes and the cosmos – not just poetically, but visually: the black hole of the pupil, the constellation of colours that make up the iris, the tiny dilated blood vessels like vapour trails across the whites of the sclera, the reflections like starbursts.
Moore first turned his lens skyward during Covid, creating his previous book Anybody Anyway – a monograph combining his dreamy portraits with pictures of the cosmos. In a sense, Eyes and Skies picks up where Anybody Anyway left off – contemplating the mysteries of the universe. “I started doing the sky images quite slowly, as I matured with making photos and got bored with waiting around for something to happen. Most of my images rely on someone else – typically my friends,” he tells AnOther. “I just had the thought, ‘What has the same energy as an emotional portrait of a human subject?’, and I figured the closest thing would be the stars.”
For Moore, the camera is more important as a means by which to mediate the world around him rather than photography for photography’s sake. “I don’t know if I’ve necessarily cared about photography as an art form, but more so a way to relate to the world and people and a practice or action,” he says. As an only child whose early interactions were mostly with adults, taking pictures became a means of connection as well as protection. “I guess the camera became a shield, but also a passport into adventure. The camera is my vehicle to capture how I see things and show adoration for the people – or dogs – I love.”
Aside from Eyes and Skies, one of his recent shoots includes the cover artwork for the upcoming Olivia Rodrigo album, You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl So In Love (due for release this June). The image captures the pop star on a swing, suspended in a moment of abandon and joy against a backdrop of bright blue sky. Like his previous portraits of friends (the secret ingredient is trust between himself and the subject, he says), his pictures of Rodrigo involve collaboration and mutual admiration. “Olivia is literally the ultimate collaborator. She found some of my pictures and reached out, and we went from there. We spent two 16-hour days taking photos. I’m so proud of those images,” he says. “I also really love her music. I’ve been in Japan for what seems like forever, and Drop Dead is basically my jet lag alarm clock in my head.”
Back in New York, where the Florida-born photographer resides, it’s hard to see the stars, but the book does feature skyscapes and sunsets Moore shot from his Canal Street studio rooftop alongside a host of other locations. “There are a few places to see the Milky Way with your own eyes,” he says. “Some images are from the Atacama Desert in Chile, which is an absolutely fucking insane place; like you’re in space.” Something happens when these otherworldly, spectral skyscapes are placed alongside his pictures of eyes – the photos enter into conversation with one another, and the studies of eyes take on an unearthly, ethereal quality. It’s an extension of Moore’s concept of beauty, which is the constant throughline in all his images – be they of skies, eyes, friends, dogs, or loved ones: “I find beauty in weirdness.”
Eyes and Skies by Chad Moore is published by Super Labo and is out now.
