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Photography Mon Jun 21 2010
Aaron Fowler's OCEAN @ HungryMan Gallery
Last Friday at HungryMan Gallery, (2135 North Rockwell Street,) Aaron Fowler's opening reception of OCEAN debuted. Curated by Jason Lazarus, this show is a conglomeration of Fowler's photography created over an extended period of time. Running until July 11, a commonality extracted from OCEAN is the avenue of mnemonic transition of time which recalls the passage of travel as the measure of memories encapsulated.
This rite hood is a reflection of maturity achieved through adulthood. Specifically embodied in the photographs, "Pun'kin" and "Ocean"; the former illustrates the absurdity of the concept of children trying to pull their teeth using the door hinge as a mechanism. In "Pun'kin", a string emanates from a mini Jack O' Lantern and is tied around an ajar door. This reciprocation of replacing physical with the plasticine is reiterated in "Ocean", but the replacement has occurred through an electronic device of communication, a device that is eminent in functioning in present society. The seashell has a cell phone in it, making apparent what it is subjecting. A mirage of materials imitating synthetic biophilic tendencies is evident because the "ocean" is a blue towel on top of a mattress, presumably imitating the feeling of being in one. These similar associations of material performing object anesthesia are an important element in Fowler's work.
Every item in OCEAN is immediately available, hitting the viewers' vision dead center. Objects are caught in a mid transition, whether it is a motion of bodies, material or stone as in "IL, NY", where the map is scrunched up floating in flux. This photo functions as a present time narration of Fowlers' future mode of transit, as he plans to move to NY in August. Depicting operation as the mode of coversion, "Boysenberries" performs this same manifestation. In it is a picture of boysenberries framed in a sparse tree. It is an article of news encapsulate in its environment, where one would typically see them grow. But the tree is bare with no fruit and its replacement is an artificial picture, which is trying consummate and make up for what the original was. The picture of nature captured in its intended surrounding, confined by a human, performing a "PIP", a picture-in-a-picture speaking volumes for the maturing of the generation of the extinction of the dial up, the VHS and analog cable.
