SYMBIOSIS An exhibition organised by London Alternative Photography Collective at Hundred Years Gallery

SYMBIOSIS

An exhibition organised by London Alternative Photography Collective at Hundred Years Gallery, Hoxton. Organised by Melanie King, Ky Lewis and Hayley Harrison.

Exhibition dates: 18-27 January 2024.
Install: 17 January 2024.
Opening: 18 January 2024, evening. Times TBC.
Closing event and De-Installation: 27 January 2024 from 4 pm -7.30 pm.
You must be available to attend the installation and de-install of the artwork.
Artists do not need to invigilate.

Cost to participate if work is selected: £20. The London Alternative Photography Collective is currently un-funded, therefore hire costs for the exhibition space hire will be shared by participating artists.

Please note, that due to the size of the gallery, we will be prioritising singular works smaller than 16x20" .

Deadline for submissions: 18 December 2023.

Introduction

This is a call out for artists working with analogue and alternative photography, alongside symbiotic processes or themes.

‘Symbiosis’ is a group exhibition exploring the relationship between image makers, the more-than-human, and alternative photographic processes.

When working with analogue and alternative photographic processes, light, water, and botanicals are harvested to expose, process, tone and transform work. During this transformation, there is dependency on non-human elements.

Questions to consider within this exhibition:

What are the connections between symbiosis and alternative photography?

Is nature a collaborator or a commodity in alternative photography processes?

What does it mean to be in relationship with a landscape or a plant for extended periods of time – to witness the interplay between individual species within their ecosystems? What is the role of artistic testimony when witnessing symbiosis within these relationships?

Whether by process or theme, this exhibition documents interspecies relationships – including those between humans and non-humans. Photographic and momentary, they are mid-relationship – we can only guess the before and after.

How do we bear witness to symbiotic relationships between different species, alongside our responsibility to acknowledge that the true definition of symbiosis is both parasitic and mutualistic? Much like alternative photographic processes, balance and equilibrium are essential to symbiosis.

Text: Hayley Harrison
Image: Ky Lewis and Hayley Harrison