Teacup by Kyoko Hamada, courtesy Randall Scott Gallery

Friday marked the opening of 8 Photographers at Randall Scott, with previews of all eight artists’ work hung. Over the course of the next eight weeks, two photographers at a time will adorn the walls for two week spans, after which the walls will be refilled with the next pair of picture-takers. Gallery owner Scott did not pick these artists with a curatorial mission in mind, but simply picked those “who managed to make the hair on the back of [his] neck stand up,” whom he found “through many internet wanderings, prowling artist websites and chasing links that start in one country and somehow cris-cross global cyberspace and end up in a completely different place.” With Friday’s opening only allowing a glimpse of the work that will displayed throughout the coming weeks, we’re intrigued to see how each photographer fills their half-gallery space, and how that helps or hinders their narratives.

The first two photographers, Kyoko Hamada and Tema Stauffer, will be on display until July 26. Hamada’s soft, still, white-framed images appear to be telling a story, and left us curious to see the full exhibition. Two of her images featured a contemplative character, still among his and her environs. In Teacup (pictured right), a middle-aged woman in enviable sunglasses and mother-like business attire holds a beige teacup and sits centered on a similarly beige couch, framed by translucent yellow window coverings. Hamada's work left us wondering if the additional photographs in her repertoire will tell us more about these characters, or are they simply portraits? Hamada’s counterpart, Tema Stauffer, displayed three beautiful nighttime gas station landscapes which, while lovely, don’t leave us quite as curious as Hamada’s.

No. 18 by Peter Van Agtmael, courtesy Randall Scott Gallery

July 26 to August 8 will feature Jessica Dimmock and Peter Van Agtmael. Dimmock presents relatively small, gritty photographs reminiscent of film stills. The images appear to tell the story of the down-trodden, with Jessie Returns to Mike #1 showing a couple on the bed of a scant and dirty room, and Jessie in the Stairwell focusing on the face of the bruised Jessie. Van Agtmael photographs a different type of confrontation—military conflict and invasion. A commissioned photographer in Iraq in 2007, Van Agtmael presents a dark, eerie depiction in photos that are not quite as clear-cut and easily read as typical photojournalism (No. 18 from Raids pictured left). With the work of these two photographers’ side-by-side, these two weeks promise to be a bit jarring, but likely worthwhile.

From August 9 to 22, Alexandra Catiere and Shen Wei will fill the gallery with portraits. Catiere’s grainy black-and-white’s were shot through the windows of a trolley bus in Minsk, capturing the longing looks of its passengers. While Wei’s portraits appear much more staged, he also photographs strangers, who over the course of a few conversations “allow him intimate access to their lives.” Randall Scott claims Wei is his “favorite portrait photographer at the moment,” but we're not entirely convinced.

And finally, Allison Brady and Ryoko Suzuki close the eight-week series with an exhibit that runs from August 23 to September 5. The pairing of these two will be interesting to see. At the opening, Brady presented two oddly lighthearted staged fashionesque photographs of women in distress—one with a teal suitcase closed on her head, leaving trellises of blond curls rolling out onto the dirty ground, and the other wrapped in a designer rug on a flight of stairs with the top of her head and arms sticking out. What other shenanigans will these fashionistas get into? On the other hand, while Suzuki’s work at the opening was a larger-than life Asian woman with doll body and human head, the gallery website claims different work of Suzuki’s will be up during their exhibit — photographs depicting Suzuki’s face bound with blood soaked pigskin. We're starting to think that Randall Scott is vying for the title of Most Creepy D.C. Gallery, previously awarded to Irvine Contemporary.

8 Photographers will be at Randall Scott Gallery through September 5. The gallery is located at 1326 14th Street, NW and is open Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Tuesday by appointment.