“This I Believe/REVEALED," currently on display at the Spirit Gallery, is a photography and essay show that does not try to captivate you with bright colors or flashy images.  This is a project that beckons you to get close and intimate with the subject of each piece and may make you think more deeply about yourself as a result.

Rhode Island based photographer Scott Indermaur has his roots in photojournalism.  He received a degree from a journalism school in Flagstaff, Ariz. and worked for papers such as the Arizona Public and Arizona Daily after graduation.  Just under five years ago he settled in East Greenwitch, R.I. where he currently does portrait and advertising photography for an array of corporate clients both in the United States and overseas.  The work affords him the opportunity to travel to all types of locations.

About six years ago Scott began to spend a great deal of time contemplating his relationship with his own spirituality, and out of this thought process the REVEALED project was born.  With this project, Indermaur sought to examine people's relationships to their own personas by attempting to photograph the individual’s spirituality.

“I presented my subjects with a small wooden box and asked them in advance of the photography session to bring items that represented their spiritual experience in which to fill the space," he said. "The concept of identity and the awareness of a higher existence quickly evolved into a vessel of self-exploration and quiet confession.”

This project combines his journalistic roots with his current love of portraiture. Although the actual shoot is in a studio with controlled lighting, Indermaur does not influence the contents or composition of the box or how the subject wants to be portrayed. He is simply documenting the expression of an individual soul.

Indermaur created the portraits by illuminating only the expression of the subject and the box of items meant to reveal pieces of their souls. All other elements of the image are shrouded in black, including the background and clothing of the subject. This minimalistic approach allows anyone willing to get close enough to really focus on what is important and feel the depth of each image.

Occasionally people who view his work are compelled to send messages to Indermaur about what would go in their boxes if they took part in the project.

A few years into the project, Indermaur partnered up with WRNI’s (Rhode Island’s National Public Radio) This I Believe project.  “The collaboration features the essays of 24 Rhode Islanders who share the core values that guide their daily lives and those individuals sharing those core values as REVEALED subjects.” 

The essays are all printed below their respective images and may also be listened to on WRNI’s Website.

The next step for the REVEALED project is to involve children in the project and then take it around the world.  The first attempt to run a REVEALED class took place in June with a group of fifth graders from the Paul Cuffe School in Providence, R.I.

“I have always been amazed at how deep and meaningful insights children have of REVEALED and the energy they have added to this project,” said Indermaur.

Indermaur explained the project to the class and then explored it visually, having students tell what would go in their REVEALED box.  They were then given a paper box to decorate and fill with objects representing them.

A showing of the film “REVEALED: Portraits from Beneath One’s Surface” will take place on Jan. 21 at 6 p.m.  Visit the Spirit Gallery on this day or during any of their open hours to view this intriguing and compelling display.  For more information on Indermaur and his projects visit one of his websites at http://www.siphotography.com/ or http://www.revealedproject.com/.