We're pleased to provide an introduction to the second group of five shortlisted photographers for FRESH 2013. More of their work can be viewed on the gallery's
Online Showcase.
BILL JACKSON
Opscurum Spatio I, ©Bill Jackson
Series Title: Anima Mundi (2012-2013)
PHOTOGRAPHER’S WEBSITE: www.billjackson.biz
ARTIST STATEMENT:
"From the series Anima Mundi – The Soul Of The Earth. On the beach, between sea and sky, the night is pitch black, the space is more physiological and emotional, than architectural. You are confronted with a 'Dark Light', where if you wait long enough, you can begin to see. What you see is very personal. These are 20 minute exposures out into the abyss – on the edge of the world".
CLAY LIPSKY
Atomic Overlook #7, ©Clay Lipsky
Series Title: Atomic Overlook (2012)
PHOTOGRAPHER’S WEBSITE: www.claylipsky.com
ARTIST STATEMENT:
"Atomic Overlook is a historical mash-up of 1950's atomic bomb tests and 21st century tourism. This series re-contextualizes a legacy of atomic resting in order to keep the threat of nuclear armament fresh and also speaks to the voyeuristic culture we live in where catastrophes are viewed as entertainment. Imagine if the advent of the atomic era occurred during today's information age. Tourists would gather to view bomb tests, at the anively 'safe' distances used in the 1950's, and share the resulting cell phone photos online. Broadcast media would regurgitate such visual fodder ad nauseam, bringing even new levels of desensitization. The threat of atomic weapons is as great as ever, but it is a hidden specter. I can only hope that mankind will never again suffer the wrath of such a destructive force, but it is clear that the world would not hesitate to watch".
ROBERT MORAN
Blue Flash ©Robert Moran
Series Title: Relics (2011-2012)
PHOTOGRAPHER’S WEBSITE: www.robertmoran.com
ARTIST STATEMENT:
"Relics is a collection of portraits of everyday objects that are past their prime. Once relied upon, they have become touchstones of an earlier way of life. The bag used by a doctor who made house calls. A rotary dial telephone that gave you time to consider each number. Writing on a manual typewriter. All displaced by something faster, sleeker, more efficient. My aim for this project is to honor our inventive past and save some of its icons from the trash heap of memory. The objects are cultural artifacts from a different world. Everything changes. Objects are our partners in the human endeavor. These pieces have borne witness to dark nights, hot summers, musical interludes. By so doing, they and all the other objects we have used, loved, and discarded have helped shape the character and spirit of our society".
J. SCRIBA
Paternoster 2, ©J. Scriba
Series Title: Situ Art (2009-2012)
PHOTOGRAPHER’S WEBSITE: www.jscriba.com
ARTIST STATEMENT:
"My art is about places and people at specific places. Most of the time I observe what happens at these places, but sometimes I also change the place. Sometimes I observe what happens at the place I change. But often, just observing the place changes what is happening. Instead of using a camera to capture a composition in that notorious “decisive moment” I practice a form of robotic image acquisition. I usually set up a camera very much like a scientific experiment, to obtain technically optimized input, triggering the shutter automatically whenever suitable subjects enter the field of view. The pictures created from this input reduce the original place to a few, often abstract, features revealing the human dimension even more clearly: People performing seemingly mysterious rites – riding escalators and elevators, climbing enigmatic stairs, traversing unfathomable spaces".
ILONA SZWARC
Molleen, Brooklyn, NY, 2012 ©Ilona Szwarc
Series Title: American Girls (2012)
PHOTOGRAPHER’S WEBSITE: www.ilonaszwarc.com
ARTIST STATEMENT:
"American Girls is a series of portraits of girls in United States who own American Girl dolls. The design of the dolls embodies contemporary cultural values. They were conceived to be anti-Barbie toys modeled after a body of a nine year old. Each doll can be customized to look exactly like its owner, yet all of them really look the same. American Girl dolls offer an illusion of choice therefore an illusion of individuality. Despite they play a crucial role for girls in a moment when they are forming their identity. With a wide variety of miniature accessories, they are perhaps the most luxurious toys ever invented. American Girl product defines and categorizes American girls and that fact raises important questions about who gets represented and how. Branding behind the doll perpetuates domesticity and traditional gender roles. I examine how culture and society conditions gender and how it invents childhood".
