Gallery 3
The Archaeology of Urban Spaces
Todd Johnson
These photographs are the result of collaboration between the camera apparatus and the urban landscape. On a technical level, I have placed various articles collected from the landscape inside the camera apparatus. Shards of glass, a discarded ribbon, plastic wrappers, tree sap, a slug; these objects, materials and live creatures have found their way on top of the photographic emulsion, leaving their trace as an ‘in-camera photogram’. This ongoing collaboration is an attempt to reclaim control over the camera apparatus, by allowing elements of the landscape to more overtly steer the photographic authoring process. What results is a highly unpredictable visual arrangement that fits somewhere between intention and chance.
My curiosity and fascination for objects and spaces we position ourselves amongst reflects an understanding that our interactions with the world are silently and honestly revealed in the remnants, gaps and physical signs left behind.
