Aiden Gageler - Life of a Bee
This project is an investigation into the chemical and physical composition of photography. This focus is on traditional materials and methodologies. By reducing the photographic process down to the point of chemical and substrate, there is no projection of life onto the print by means of a lens. Without mediation of the lens, the prints are able to organically depict their experience of time passed. The role of the artist is to bring the latent image out of hiding and to stop the print developing before it locks the audience out.
A lot of the paper used is from the early 20th century and has been passed down from generation to generation of photographers. Most of the packets have been opened, fogged, damaged and marked, rendering them useless for normal means. This process reveals the beauty of the aged light allowing the papers to express themselves.
The work nudges up against the traditional definitions of 'photographic' as laid out by contemporary critique. The process is photographic, while challenging traditional notions of content and presentation.