Open For Meat Orders (2021)

This small series of prints was born out of a newfound desire to use the materials I had at hand to complete a project. In this case, it was a lightproof bag of photo paper labelled “Unknown single weight paper”. The paper in question was definitely fogged on the edges, meaning light had got into the bag at some point in time. It was still usable with the right techniques, and had a quality I appreciated at the time. In retrospect, my guess is it was Ilfobrom stock probably from the 1980s or 1990s based on how it toned in selenium.

The nice thing about having a limited stock of paper – there were maybe 25 sheets left – is that you have a definite line in the sand. A tailor made system for completing a project, and not drawing it out.

The images are mostly of businesses shuttered during the pandemic. They are printed quite heavily and then bleaching back the highlights. I was trying to capture the mood on the streets at the time.

They are dry mounted to black Peterboro mat board. There’s something visually wonderful about dry mounted single weight prints – they almost disappear into the mat board.

Dimensions

Mount: 8″ x 10″
Prints: 5″ x 5″

Selenium toned, silver gelatin prints