John Edwin May is a photographer located in Knoxville, Tennessee. May studied photography at Lincoln Memorial University, University of South Carolina and East Tennessee State University, where he earned a MFA in 2010. He has held teaching posts at Pellissippi State Community College, Lincoln Memorial University, Walters State Community College, East Tennessee State University, and Arrowmont School of Art. An avid workshop participant, he has studied with Marsha Burns, Mark Goodman, Tim Grey, Christopher James, Brian Kaufman, Mary Ellen Mark, John Sexton, Craig Stevens, and Joyce Tenneson.
His recent bodies of work include Unseen / When the Water Falls, an exploration of East Tennessee reservoir landscapes revealed by receding water levels; Judgemental INK, a portrait-based project examining assumptions and personal identity through tattoo culture; Ringside / Bell Time, projects documenting the culture and atmosphere of independent professional wrestling; and PHONE, an ongoing series exploring the decline of the public payphone and the traces it leaves behind in the American landscape.
May’s RINGSIDE was just named as one of PhotoLucida’s 200 Critical Mass Finalists on August 18, 2022.
