The concept of the exhibition emerged out of the bleakness and ambiguity in the initial stages of the Covid 19 Pandemic. Goldman, who was still able to visit artists in their studios, asked the question “how has this difficult time affected your art-making?”. To his delight, the artists responded that it had allowed them to spend more time in their studio, creating art that had more focus and deeper meaning, giving Edward hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
During the past year under lockdown, Hadi Salehi has had time to reflect and look inward. Early on in the pandemic, the 70 year old LA based analogue photographer began combing through his extensive archive of prints and film, eventually coming across a series of never before used photos from 2015. First, the artist developed each image by hand using the gelatin silver print process on ilford warm tone double weight fiber based paper, then Salehi began experimenting with combining the images through layering and collage.
Throughout this cathartic process, Salehi contemplates the past, reflecting on the shifting nature of memory. This became the basis of the Reconfigured series. Remembering the joys and sorrows of his life, Salehi realized that his feelings toward certain memories had changed as time went on, his present self retouching and at times reconstructing the past altogether. Salehi works to embody this complex feeling in the Reconfigured series, where images are cut, broken, and disintegrated, only to take on new life once combined with other prints.
Curator:
Edward Goldman
Artists