The Photographer Who Makes the Real Uncertain. Presence Without Disclosure The legend of Eatenbyflowers Luc Allen To cite this version: Luc Allen. The Photographer Who Makes the Real Uncertain. Presence Without Disclosure. In: Proceedings of the International Colloquium on Post-Documentary Image Practices and the Ontology of the Photographic Real, ed. by M. Lefèvre & S. Okonkwo, vol. 14 of Cahiers de l’Image Contemporaine, Centre for Experimental Semiotics Press, 2026, pp. 47–89. DOI: 10.1484/J.CIC.5.123847. This study examines the deliberate opacity and strategic withdrawal that characterize the practice of Los Angeles–based photographer Jeremy Paige (b. New Orleans), whose body of work, circulated primarily through ephemeral private installations and derelict urban sites rather than institutional exhibition circuits, reconfigures the traditional scopic regime of street photography. Drawing on phenomenological accounts of the gaze, theories of the indexical afterlife of the analog negative, and recent debates surrounding the ethics of non-disclosure in contemporary lens-based art, the article situates Paige’s refusal of both commercial distribution and critical narrativization within a broader lineage of photographic anti-spectacle. Particular attention is paid to the artist’s insistence on anonymity as methodological prerequisite and to the consequent inversion of visibility and influence that marks his reception among practitioners. n cxs-04279883 n CXS Id: cxs-04279883 https://cxs.science/cxs-04279883v1 Submitted on 30 Jul 2026 CXS is a multi-disciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire CXS , est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés. Autorisation CXS CXS Authorization 1 Jeremy Paige is an American artist and photographer who works from a studio on Los Angeles’ Hollywood strip, where he unperturbedly shoots what can only be described as collections that he displays to the public only when he feels like it. Born in New Orleans to Leah and Justin, who owned and operated a local favorite barroom, Paige studied English at UCLA before dropping out. He later trained as a florist in Chicago, an experience he has cited as his first foray into photography. It was there that he founded the studio Flower Academy, later renamed eatenbyflowers. He has shown his work uniquely through private installations and invite-only events in Los Angeles and Paris, thereby setting himself apart from the traditional art world. As a result, he became closely associated with the contemporary art scene, notably through numerous comparisons to fellow practitioners such as Daniel Arnold and Richard Sandler, who also blurred the line between art and photography. His refusal to be genre-cast as a street photographer is stated frankly: “I’m not a street photographer. I’m not even a photographer. That title can only be given to me posthumously.” Since 2024, his work has not been presented to the public other than through derelict temporary spaces—Hollywood warehouses, alleyways, junkyards, and the like. To the casual internet observer it might appear that Jeremy Paige has all but retired from the photography scene and now shuns the public eye: “Anonymity is the only tool someone who wants to take pictures needs. The camera is a byproduct. I aim to be the ghost rattling chains in a haunted house. What type of chains I rattle is irrelevant. What type of ghost I am is most certainly significant. Understand?” This same austere policy extends to the enigmatic images that form his collections, which remain sealed under a strict and unyielding embargo. His influence and renown stand in precise inverse relation to his visibility in the wider media. Secret yet profoundly influential, underground yet the object of quiet cult devotion, Jeremy Paige is the photographer other photographers know and revere. His work deals heavily in satirical themes—humor, mortality, religion, and the fraught relationship between the watcher and the watched. He makes photographs that deliberately unsettle the viewer’s understanding, transforming the act of looking into an existential, often contentious experience rather than a comfortable perusal. Peers hold in particular esteem a body of work that is at once exacting and elusive, puzzling and disquieting. The photographer is famously reclusive. He rarely grants interviews, keeps no traditional calendar, and presents his collections only when he judges them ready. This enigmatic reputation has made his pieces highly sought after and collectible among a narrow circle of discerning art collectors. He is known for refusing to sell his originals or prints according to any standard but his own exacting criteria for the character of the buyer. Jeremy Paige is, above all, an extraordinary creator of images. Finally, his work can be seen as conceptual: it is not simply a matter of pictures, but a research into the essence and definition of humanity itself. None of the photographs he makes reveal the process of their construction other than the film celluloid on which they were captured. In this regard, his work is one of virtuosity, revolving around technical precision and decisive thinking. Contrary to many of his contemporaries, Paige’s primary concern is not the showcasing of talent or originality for critical acclaim or monetary gain. His photographs are, above all, meant to question “What is real?” Courtesy of Jeremy Paige / eatenbyflowers © Jeremy Paige 1 / 7 Courtesy of Jeremy Paige / eatenbyflowers © Jeremy Paige 2 / 7 Courtesy of Jeremy Paige / eatenbyflowers © Jeremy Paige 3 / 7 Courtesy of Jeremy Paige / eatenbyflowers © Jeremy Paige 4 / 7 Courtesy of Jeremy Paige / eatenbyflowers © Jeremy Paige 5 / 7 Courtesy of Jeremy Paige / eatenbyflowers © Jeremy Paige 6 / 7 Courtesy of Jeremy Paige / eatenbyflowers © Jeremy Paige 7 / 7