now/here by Ryan Joseph Chahanovich
May 4 – 30, 2019
Opening reception Saturday, 5/4 7-9pm
We are excited to show color darkroom prints by Ryan Chahanovich over his travels to Sri Lanka, Tokyo, New York, Hong Kong & Mexico. Join us for the opening reception on Saturday, 5/4, 7-9pm.
/ project
Global vagabondary has long been the fast track to self discovery. However in this day and age, much as every other aspect of being human, the wonder and disorientation of places and cultures unknown has been wholly subsumed by the digitization of sensory experience.
Eschewing the all seeing eye phone and opting instead for a taped up hunk of plastic that passes for a camera – these images are the abstract reflection of the artists quest to be wholly present within (and without) place and time, now here – nowhere.
/ process
The series was captured on a Holga, a crude plastic camera, using a handheld multiple exposure technique. The idea to print the entire series by hand in a color darkroom was quite literally born of a fever dream, a delusion of bedridden boredom.
The fever eventually broke and thus the quest began, cobbling together all of the antiquated elements to bring light forth from the dark. After several months, fits and starts, the darkroom was complete and so began the long, slow process of making c-prints for this series. True analog, from start to finish.
/ person
Ryan Joseph Chahanovich is a self taught photographer, fiercely dedicated to the analog aesthetic and ethos. He learned his craft in the darkroom by taking one introductory class at a community darkroom, where he secretly copied the entrance key and broke in every night at 2am for the next 6 months.
As a human, Ryan’s notable achievements include being trapped backstage for a very awkward 10 minutes alone with Huey Lewis, running barefoot in the Special Olympics 4×100 meter relay, and peeing his pants in front of his entire 7th grade english class.
Once upon a time his photographs appeared in Modern Drummer Magazine, Recording Magazine, the Seattle Times, and have been exhibited in San Francisco and Honolulu.