What is a photograph? How do you create a photograph? The boundaries of these questions are pushed by all artists exhibiting at Shadow Catchers – Camera-less Photography. The essence of each photograph created by the five artists lies in their ability to fix shadows or light on a light sensitive surface, without the use of a camera. Each artist works in a very different mode of practice and manages to transfix the viewer into some kind of stupor with the rarely known techniques. With many links to painting some of the photographs hold little resemblance to what most would perceive as a photograph.
For me the exhibition was about the discovery of varying techniques around the world of camera-less photography. The exhibition has made me think of photographic paper in a more literal sense; it is not actually necessary to use a camera at all when creating a photograph. Photographic paper can be used like a canvas in which light is the source of paint and can be captured and preserved. Breaking the boundary between making a photograph without a camera has allowed for some very interesting dreamy and textured photographs to be created. I am interested in becoming familiar with some of these techniques and really discovering the potential of photographic paper and not only the possibilities of a pinhole camera.
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