Everything You Need to Know (PDF)

Photos slide from the opening of a manila envelope. The man in the corner gestures to them. Everything you need to know, he says, is there.

 

There are numerous snapshots of open mouths. Most are stark and snarling grimaces. Others are frozen yawns, silent shouts, stiff groans. In one image, an anonymous subject reclines, lips parted to reveal a chasm in the foreground. A shadow observes from just beyond. 

 

Who’s that in the background? I ask.

 

The man in the corner says nothing. He remains still when I hold another photo just under his nose. It's a perfect scowl: placed exactly where his should be, ready to say what he won’t.