Past
PERMANENCE
Linsey Gosper
October 14th, 2016 – November 12th, 2016
‘Permanence’, is a solo exhibition of hand printed silver gelatin photographs by Linsey Gosper. The work was taken in Europe and the series looks at the mythological symbolic sculptures and architecture that have protected European cities and remained for centuries.
Made of stone, marble and concrete, materials that have endured, they embody a time when the world was full of spirits and magic, and we were more deeply connected to the earth and our mortality. Archetypal motifs and primordial images still hold power, as they have done throughout human history.
At the heart of the exhibition is an exploration of photographic materiality and process. The artists’ ‘hand’ is present throughout; from exposing the film, to developing the film and hand printing the photographs. In making a selection of this work – through a deliberate combination of imagery and alchemical/meditation processes – Linsey intends to infuse the photographs with apotropaic magick, a ritualised process akin to the creation of a talisman. How esoteric concepts and processes can be applied to art making, in particular to darkroom practice, is Linsey’s current focus. Can art objects made with intent be magickal?
The photograph as object- and the power these objects contain, in particular regarding our association with the nostalgia of the keepsake, the photo as momento mori and photograph as a talisman, is central to this exhibition.
'Garden of Dreams' 2016, fibre based silver gelatin photograph, 40 x 60cm
'Death always comes' 2016, fibre based silver gelatin photograph, 30 x 40cm
'The Grotesque' 2016, fibre based silver gelatin photograph, 40 x 60cm
'Sliver Chain' 2016, fibre based silver gelatin photograph, 40 x 60cm
'Rolled Rocks' 2016, fibre based silver gelatin photograph, 20 x 28cm
'Mutter' 2016, fibre based silver gelatin photograph, 50 x 60cm
'Mortarium' 2016, fibre based sliver gelatin photograph, 30 x 40cm