Timothy Bryan Ghiloni

Subway Sleepers
Subway Sleepers began as other groups of images have in the past; with simple observation. I would ride the train to and from wherever it was I had to go, and I watched the others that did so as well. I became fascinated with those who allowed themselves to fall asleep in the subway system. The act of sleeping itself is an intimately peaceful act being committed against an insecure and turbulent backdrop. It is an act of comfort, an act of surrender, and an act of trust. It is an act most commonly practiced behind locked doors. I began to take a visual note of their similarities and their difference. I found that a person’s expression or posture could tell me the story of their day and perhaps even their life. Some of the photographs are highly intimate portraits citing expression and vibration, others are contextual in nature and give the viewer details of the venue. I fell into a love affair with the Subway Sleepers and photographed them extensively over the next two years. Indeed, I was fixated on this act, preformed for all to see on the subway’s stage and soon I had an ensemble of images that covered a greater cross section of the quiescently commuting New Yorker. Overall concepts began to formulate such as unity and equality. The act of sleep symbolizing a common thread we all share, linking us all as one body of people. Yet, I knew that there was a greater personal meaning to this exploration. I took a step back from the shooting process to study the images and seek out feedback. In time I came to realize that by photographing the somnolent, I am essentially comparing the myself to the sleeper and ultimately coming to identify and relate to my recessed subjects. The images become less about who they are, and more about who we are. We tour here and there, day to day and pay check to pay check, in order to maintain some meager level of existence in this city that ironically never sleeps. We are all New Yorkers in our sleep. We are all Americans in our sleep. We are all people, in our sleep. We toil and travel, taking what refuge we can during our commute through life. The activity of sleeping on the subway becomes synonymous with struggle. The working poor, making use of an unfit environment to gain a moments rest. Through these images, I am dealing with my own issues of financial security, how society defines success, and the role that money plays in that definition. I am coming to terms with my economic status and place in life. Suffice to say that I am afraid of never reaching that monetized comfort zone, afraid of never waking up from this pecuniary repose, afraid of never getting off of the subway.


Timothy Bryan Ghiloni was born and raised in Newark, Ohio, just outside of Columbus. He graduated from Lakewood High School in 1994, showing great artistic promise and ambition. After high school, Bryan began college at Columbus State where he studied Graphic Communications for a year and a half. Discouraged by the lack of creativity involved in this field of study, he transferred schools. In 1998 he began attending the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia, where he found his calling as a photographer. Bryan graduated in 2002 with dual B.F.A.s in Photography and Graphic Design, achieving honors in each. After graduation he moved to New York City where he freelanced out of his own studio and worked with some of the most influential photographers in the medium such as Joyce Tenneson and Arnold Newman.

Over the course of Bryan's young career as an artist, he has shown in over 30 exhibitions including 6 solo shows and 3 New York City exhibitions. Timothy Bryan Ghiloni is also heavily involved with his artist collective, the Stillmoreroots Group. Recently the group has relocated to Swainsboro, Georgia where they are working with numerous community and arts organizations in order to build community and economy through art-related programming. The most recent derivative of this initiative is Gallery RFD, a non-profit art gallery that Bryan codirects with fellow Stillmoreroots member Anthony Faris. Bryan and Anthony will also be exhibiting together in a joint show in October at Augusta State University