ZERO TOLERANCE

VIRGINIA CITY, MONTANA - 2026

STANDARD
33" x 69" Unframed
48" x 84" Framed
Edition of 12

LARGE
50" x 103" Unframed
65" x 118" Framed
Edition of 12

When I film in the legendary Pioneer Bar in Virginia City, Montana, I pretend that my camera is diving into the pages of a western storybook. For any character to be in my frame they must conform to western archetypes and do so with some authority. Even if the men are the most charming of individuals in real life, they must briefly wear the hat of unconscionable rogues. Meanwhile, the women must couple femininity and sexuality with a palpable toughness. 
 
The collective should be united in their untamed menace. To that extent, this genre of my work is much more about casting than it is about the camera; one weak face can kill the concept and the photograph. The whole should be greater than the sum of the parts, especially when the wolf is thrown into the middle of the madness. 
 
We approach these projects with a breezy attitude - it is parody and we have no lofty ambitions other than to be wry in our storytelling. We seek to entertain not to inform or preach and I know that the Coen Brothers have long informed my idea iteration. 
 
The Pioneer is the best bar we know of in the West in which to make these carefully composed close-up frames because of its depth and features like the wagon wheels on the ceilings. Most of all the window light behind me is strong enough to avoid bringing in artificial light. That is a real bonus as it makes everything real and as one would expect.
 
Our lead model in this shot - Kelsey Merritt - is intelligent and can play whatever role we prescribe to her. She wears the look of someone with zero tolerance for any nonsense and in a bar full of men with seemingly disposable moral fibre, that is a very handy attribute.

~ David Yarrow