PHOTO:Catherine Opie-So Long As They Are Wild
Working between conceptual and documentary approaches to image making, Catherine Opie examines familiar genres: portraiture, landscape, and studio photography—in surprising uses of serial images, unexpected compositions, and the pursuit of radically different subject matters in parallel. Many of her works capture the expression of individual identity through groups and reveal an undercurrent of her own biography vis-à-vis her subjects.
By Efi Michalarou
Photo: Lehmann Maupin Gallery Archive
For “So Long As They Are Wild”, her first solo exhibition in Hong Kong, Catherine Opie presents a series of photographs shot in Yosemite National Park in California. The artist is known for her ability to create photographs that unite contemporary themes and issues with a classical aesthetic that expands upon her exploration of the tradition of photography as well as the greater art historical canon. In addition to the photographs, Opie includes a series of ceramic sculptures. This recent undertaking of sculpture began as a personal pastime but has evolved into an alternative aesthetic pursuit. Opie has spent a great deal of time visiting wildernesses across the United States, and chose to focus on Yosemite for this series due to the strong history and connection to Ansel Adams, who is regarded as an authority on depictions of wild spaces. Opie’s photographs push the boundaries of Adams’ well-known work through complex compositions that present the imagery practically beyond recognition, or allow for plainly naturalistic renderings. These depictions of Yosemite point to a new, more unpredictable relationship with nature that defines the 21st Century, achieved by altering the focus, from blurred to hyperfocal distance, and the sight lines, cropping, and angling used on the land. Shown in conjunction with the photographs are Opie’s new ceramic sculptures of tree stumps. These are significant to the exhibition not only as the first sculptures the artist has created, but also as a tactical representation of the nature in her photographs. Sculpted from clay extracted from the earth, each work is formed by directly imprinting the soft clay on tree bark. They are then glazed and fired in a kiln. Opie likens the process and result of firing the works to the role fire plays in nature as both a destructive and regenerative force.
Info: Lehman, Maupin Gallery, 407 Pedder Building, 12 Pedder Street, Hong Kong, Duration: 17/5-7/7/18, Days & Hours: Tue-Fri 10:00-19:00, Sat 11:00-19:00, www.lehmannmaupin.com
