How Jessica Dimmock got to the Ninth Floor

Jessica Dimmock has been a whirling dervish since graduating from the Photojournalism program at ICP in 2005. A project she embarked upon while still in school, The Ninth Floor became a three-year intense documentation of the lives of 20 to 30 heroin addicts who lived in a run-down apartment in a well-appointed building in a fancy Manhattan neighborhood. The images were picked up in several magazines, Dimmock received high accolades and grants, and now she is member of VII’s network. Also, she’s had a book published. And tonight she makes her fine art world debut with an exhibition of the images at Foley Gallery (we spoke to Michael Foley about this and more yesterday). In any case, Jessica’s rise has been fast and well-deserved. Here are some images from the project:

Jessica Dimmock, Charlie Counting Money, 2004

Jessica Dimmock, Untitled, 2004

Jessica Dimmock, Jessie, 2004

Jessica Dimmock, Untitled, 2005

Jessica Dimmock, Rachel in the Summer, 2006

I recently dragged Jessica to some beers, where we tried out the ancient polaroid technique:

I asked Jessica just a few questions about the progression of the project, and how she feels about her gallery debut:

How did you first conceive of the 9th floor project, and how long did it take to complete? How have your relationships with the members of the house progressed?

I didn’t really set out to do the ninth floor project – it all happened very organically.  I was originally brought to the apartment by someone i was photographing who had approached me on the street. Once in the space of the apartment they were living in I felt very compelled to keep returning. The project from beginning to end spans a three year period of time. By the end of that first year I had become very close with certain individuals, and they are the ones that I ultimately ended up following for the remainder of the project.

Did you openly try to publicize the work; How did it become so widely published?

After about 8 months, when i graduated from ICP (2005) I approached New York Magazine with the work and they picked it up.  The New York Times Magazine online also ran some photographs before that as part of a student photography competition.  As I continued to work on the project I was fortunate to get several grants and awards; most notably the Inge Morath Award from Magnum and the F award from Forma and Fabrica in Italy.  This helped a great deal in supporting the work and the F award ultimately led to the publication of the book and two exhibitions in European museums.

How do you feel about showing your work in the gallery context? Is it more or less rewarding than a book or multimedia presentation? Do you feel that you are reaching a different segment of the population?

I am excited to be able to show this work in the context of a gallery because I am interested in people being in a physical space surrounded by the images. It potentially has the relentless quality that I ultimately thought was important for this work. In the book, I really try to not give the viewer too much of a break. Although there are three ‘chapters’ I do not offer breaks from section to section. I think exhibiting the work in a physical space can provide that same sense of being trapped and all-consumed. And yes, I think that the audience is different and am excited about that. I always enjoy seeing work of photojournalists or documentary photographers in galleries.