June 11, 2011 through July 06, 2011
Plastic Fantastic Show II
Opening Reception – Saturday June 11, 5-9pm
AWARD RECIPIENTS
First place : S. Gayle Stevens has reached deep down into her soul to create haunting and mesmerizing images with an instantly recognizable style. Stevens succeeded in thinking outside the plastic box by devising a means to communicate her vision via the use of the wet plate collodion process in Holgas. Her technique is superb and her winning image, “Absinthe Of Self”, is nothing short of fantastic.
Second place : Bridget Ho also thinks outside the plastic box with her series of compelling images created by layering strips of film within her camera. The end result in the image “Found” is thoughtful, enigmatic and fresh while its evocative nature encourages viewers to ask endless questions about the mysterious layered subjects projected.
Third place : Stacy Turner’s “Girl In Tutu” is a truly iconic toy camera image that is perfect in every way. The menacing composition, the complex, troubled expression on the child’s face and the overall depth and mood is uncompromisingly flawless in a creative practice that thrives on flaws to create perfection.
Honorable Mention : Amy Fichter created a deeply touching and unforgettable image in “Saying Goodbye To His Pig”. It reaches beyond the norm by showing great depth of humanity through a child’s pain and innocence, and thus, etches the image into the mind of its viewer.
Honorable Mention : Thom Greifenstein’s “Last Drop” is a perfectly composed, evocative and mysterious image that prompts us to ask continual questions about the partially revealed subject in the image, making it a wonderfully effective shot.
Message from the Juror
Toy camera photography at its best connects us all with our inner child in a pure, honest and uncompromising manner. It dares us to dream, reaches for our most innate emotions and strips us down to the essentials, much like the technically limited camera we shoot with. Thus, these optically challenged devices innately allow us to create and envision in a way that conventional cameras cannot easily achieve.
When selecting images for this years Plastic Fantastic II exhibition, I first and foremost considered these unique and essential ingredients that make memorable plastic imagery.The submissions as a whole were extremely impressive, which made it very difficult to narrow the selection down to just fifty images. Ultimately, the images selected audaciously attempted to reach beyond technical proficiency with the aim of communicating core ingredients about each us through a plastic lens.
Congratulations to the accepted exhibitors. But more importantly, heartfelt congratulations to everyone who submitted. I applaud each one of you for your courage to walk outside the standard photographic lines and express something deep inside yourself through a wonderfully imperfect plastic lens.
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