Hotsheet(s) 2020

The genesis of the Hot Sheet exhibition I curated was a desire to highlight the work of a group of exceptional, if lesser known, artists who are all interested in deconstructing, transforming, and reconfiguring the photographic medium. Obviously, the exhibition was supposed to take place in May, but by mid March Covid-19 had closed the world outside our homes. Devastated at both the loss of life, and the loss of culture, I knew it was vital I find a way to honor the exhibition that couldn’t happen. I decided to create a book. Alongside the brilliant Inga Maciulyte, over many conversations on Zoom, we began to put together this catalogue of the work, which I feel has become a work of art in itself. In this form, though the visceral impact of standing in front of a work of art is lost, I see and feel a conversation between these artists as I turn each page. It is a conversation, perhaps even an interrogation, of how to use photography in a new way in a world where we are bombarded with images, selfies, ‘pics.’ These artists rip the medium to shreds, in one case literally. Though I can see that there was a certain violence, a certain investigative and sometimes physical aggression involved in the making of these works, the result is quite the opposite. The works are often calming, meditative, reflective, self-possessed. They create space for the viewer to think in a time when thinking is quite terrifying. Photographs, ‘pics,’ in our online existences seem to demand our attention, to say “LOOK AT ME.” The works in this collection offer an invitation, not a demand. They don’t need our attention, though they deserve it, because they are about paying attention. I believe each of these artist are paying attention to something worth a look.

Jasper Jones - curator