Press Release
The negative films of the collection on display were found in 2017 in one of the old districts of downtown Sari (beside abandoned houses). Most of these photos are probably photographed with a Lubitel or a medium format twin lens reflex (Rolleiflex). Most films are KODAK COLOR II and AGFA COLOR. There are two important aspects to describe the photographs on display: one is the physical and the second is the historical-conceptual aspect. Physically, when the emulsion is exposed to humidity and is damped, it gets adhesive. Humidity in a condition where the environment is not sterile can cause bacterial growth. In this case, the gelatin that is a mixture of micro crystals such as bromide, chloride, silver iodide, etc., is unfastened and easily removed from the film’s surface. More precisely, the main trans(form)ation occurs in gelatin and the films get degraded. The weather conditions (humidity and temperature), as well as the films themselves, have the physical effects mentioned above on the photos. This trans(form)ation also has historical-conceptual implications. The prints of the films in this series provide a memory loss process that was once designed to be embodied and “preserved” in the form of a physical incident, namely, photographs. But over time, what has happened is in the fundamental opposition to the principle of durability. Instead of retaining memories, the images of this collection have undergone a complex process of demolition, destruction, and trans(form)ation. Ultimately, these images as a result of a temporal-chemical interaction have become sign-symptoms, indicating the fragility of the “media of photography”. The present collection attempts to review the triad of the physicality of the photographs, geography, and the “restitution” of time on the body of “memory-reminiscence”.
Selected Works
