Exhibition Information

			The Alchemy of Photography

 

For ancient alchemists, the four elements—water, air, earth, fire—formed the origins of the material world. The legendary “Philosopher’s Stone” they sought was a mysterious material that could transform base metals into gold. Though a failed science, alchemy still intrigues today’s poets and artists. It symbolizes a creativity in which confronting and contradictory values mingle to become energy. The four photographers taking part in the exhibition present their rich life experiences as polished products through the photographic medium. As contemporary artists and philosophers, they challenge us with relevant questions about the nature of life today.

Seduced by the mysterious landscapes of the desert where nature is boundless, Ville Kansanen carries out site-specific installation engineered with staged photography. Here, the desert, considered to be the origin of fixed existence, leads one to meditate on ideas of “circulation” in nature, and summons humans as spiritual beings who dream of eternity. Gretchen LeMaistre goes back in time to present works portraying the island where she spent her childhood. Tidemarks captures clear traces of the tides, while her Haptics series weds light and matter, overlapping personal history and the history of place with experimental, abstract photographs that convey hidden narratives. Rhonda Lashley Lopez, captures on paper moments in the natural world with which she deeply identifies. Her delicate printing process, involving transferring the light of nature to common materials with gold plate or photo-chemical processes, is an act of alchemy. Finally, Diane Pierce thinks about the relationships between objects and drawings, logically or randomly selected, re-composing them photographically. The interaction of materials explored in her drawing process is informed by the element of chance. The translation of the third dimension (sculptural) to the second dimension (flat photographic picture-plane), in turn, becomes the four-dimensional space of imagination, unfolding before us.

Perhaps alchemy is synonymous with the human urge to strive for what is noble. Today we are governed so much by reason and logic. Alchemy symbolizes the artist’s pure manifestation of imagination and dreams. We cannot thrive on logic and reason alone, but need nature, life, art and spiritual imagination to awaken, inspire and direct us. As we move through this extra-ordinarily difficult spring, 2020, hopefully we will remember what can be gained through the natural, ungovernable process of all-enduring life. For those who dream the pure dream that can only be realized through a process of tempering, art will serve as a fountain of wisdom.

Minjung Kang, Curator