Connect / Disconnect: Photographs by Members of the Cape Cod Photo Collective
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Artists: Julie DeMello, Richard Hale, Chris Inoue, Kevin Ledwell, Jon Moore, Kathy Pett Ryman, Nancy Walbek and Ann Worthington.
In this exhibition, members of the Cape Photo Collective continue to explore their individual styles.
While separated for a year during the Covid Pandemic, they made pictures of personal interest while employing techniques that suited the restrictions and limited interaction. Included in the show are images made just before and during the pandemic, representing the genre of each photographer.
The pictures include a diverse range of subject matter, from portrait to abstract and monochrome, to vibrant color. Techniques range from deep personal connection with the subject to experimental photography with unique and compelling results.
Connection
These photographs reflect what I have been working on most of my life, portraits, primarily of women. This started before selfies; all are done with an interpersonal connection.
So consider them vinyl, not CDs. Consider them baked from scratch, not a packaged mix. And consider that two people were making a connection instead of one person with a device and an APP.
Kevin Ledwell
Nineteen Pictures of Covid
Since March 7, 2020, everything I photographed has been seen through the filter of Covid 19.
Jon Moore
“Entropy – The lack of order or predictability”
This series has been an experience in learning to accept the lack of order or predictability. Working with ice & plant matter has been a lesson in embracing outcomes that are out of anyone’s control. As water begins to freeze it expands; that energy pushes & moves the plants around in unintended ways. The leaves & petals become contorted often pushing them outward through the ice or deeper within. Some areas of the ice become dense & white while others are more porous. Certain flowers bleed some of their color while they are transitioning to their frozen state. Then there is the infamous bubble that reveals itself in precarious places. It has been an exhilarating experience to set up these frozen creations to see what beauty they may or may not reveal. It is all of their imperfections that add to their mystery and allure.
Julie DeMello
See/Not See
These past months have presented many limitations, one of which was an appreciably smaller world to explore. The challenge was to see what new could be discovered looking at the all-too-familiar. Be it in the kitchen, in the yard, or on walks in the neighborhood, the task was to look with fresh eyes, open mind, and expectation. I was amazed at what I had missed, not stopped to appreciate, not fully “seen.”
Ann Worthington
Derivative Reality
Shadow, refraction and reflection, created by the interaction between light and substance, is used in these photographs to reveal properties of the subject matter. These visual cues are derivative information that can enhance and/or skew our
understanding of what we see. Incorporating these elements into the composition forms relationships and may provoke questions about how we perceive reality.
Chris Inoue
Genesis
Chaotic unformed waters…Darkness…God’s spirit gliding over water…The creation of light…Earth…Sky…Night and day. Order created out of chaos.
I have always been intrigued with the Torah’s opening verses of Genesis. What would earth look like unformed? What did light look when it first appeared ? When earth and sky were first separated? I wanted to tell that story through photographs.
Kathy Pett Ryman
Structures
In my photography I am drawn to how structures are defined by lines, forms, and textures. Working in tones of black, white and gray removes the distraction of color, allowing the viewer to experience the image less as a realistic representation of the subject and more as the result of design and art and craft, whether executed by human hand or by nature or both.
Richard Hale
On the Line
Laundry drying on outside lines has a simple graphic appeal of shapes and colors that can be transformed in a moment by the wind. The sight may evoke memories of dodging among billowing sheets and falling asleep in a bed scented of the outdoors. Moreover, the content and arrangement of drying laundry draws interest because of how it communicates about the household, offering a moment of connection rather than concealment between people.
This once nearly universal manifestation of human life has become endangered in many parts of our country. Seeing laundry on a line is increasingly rare. Some planned communities prohibit exterior laundry lines, declaring them unsightly. On the other hand, climate activists push for a return to line drying as one step toward reducing carbon emissions. The combination of visual delight and environmental good makes me hope for a renaissance of laundry art in the open air.
Nancy Walbek
