Jenny Riffle: Scavenger

“There comes a time in every rightly constructed boy’s life when he has a raging desire to go somewhere and dig for hidden treasure.”
-Mark Twain, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Riley grew up in rural eastern Washington. As a child he read Mark Twain’s stories of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn and decided he wanted to be like those mythical boys. He wanted a life full of treasure and adventure. Riley got his first metal detector when he was eleven and to this day he continues to seek treasure in the dirt, in sandy beaches or even looking through a handful of change for wheat pennies and real silver. In my project, Scavenger: Adventures in Treasure Hunting, I have been following Riley out on his hunts and photographing the objects he collects. I explore the line between documentary and fantasy as I look at the objects he finds, what drives him to continue and the mythology and history of the treasure hunting persona.

In Scavenger I don’t try to reveal Riley’s essence as a traditional portrait would, but build upon it to create a more complicated presence. I express my romantic view of his life and his treasure hunting obsession and choose not to show his daily activities outside of that. By only showing one side of his personality I create a larger than life character. I photograph him in Twain’s spirit, as a mythical adventurer, like Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer.

Website: www.jennyriffle.com

jenny-riffle-scavenger-A Hunt on Overlook Mountain
Jenny Riffle: Scavenger
jenny-riffle-scavenger-Along the Duwamish
Jenny Riffle: Scavenger
jenny-riffle-scavenger-Buick Electra
Jenny Riffle: Scavenger
jenny-riffle-scavenger-Dead Horse Bay
Jenny Riffle: Scavenger
jenny-riffle-scavenger-Dump Digging
Jenny Riffle: Scavenger
jenny-riffle-scavenger-Dump Dolls
Jenny Riffle: Scavenger
jenny-riffle-scavenger-Gold Hunt, Vashon Island
Jenny Riffle: Scavenger
jenny-riffle-scavenger-Heading Home
Jenny Riffle: Scavenger
jenny-riffle-scavenger-High Tide
Jenny Riffle: Scavenger
jenny-riffle-scavenger-Metal Detecting
Jenny Riffle: Scavenger
jenny-riffle-scavenger-Old Dump, Seattle WA
Jenny Riffle: Scavenger
jenny-riffle-scavenger-Silver
Jenny Riffle: Scavenger
jenny-riffle-scavenger-Smoke Break
Jenny Riffle: Scavenger
jenny-riffle-scavenger-Sorting Change
Jenny Riffle: Scavenger
jenny-riffle-scavenger-Spade
Jenny Riffle: Scavenger
jenny-riffle-scavenger-The Find
Jenny Riffle: Scavenger
jenny-riffle-scavenger-The Map
Jenny Riffle: Scavenger
jenny-riffle-scavenger-The Treasure Hunter
Jenny Riffle: Scavenger
jenny-riffle-scavenger-Tom Sawyer's Gang
Jenny Riffle: Scavenger
jenny-riffle-scavenger-Wrecking Yard
Jenny Riffle: Scavenger

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