Aidan Avery

The gold prints are my contribution to a collaborative project, Desert Ballad, which also features work from Andrea Koesters, Beau Devereaux, and Isabelle Baldwin. Desert Ballad explores the artists’ shared relationship to the Sonoran Desert. It is currently on display at the Wilson Barn Gallery in Oracle, AZ.

I created the gold prints using alternative darkroom processes, expired Polaroid film, as well as a rare, discontinued gelatin silver paper with a golden base. In these small (~3x4”) works, I explore historically archetypal imagery from the Southwest. Working with “obsolete” materials and getting to know the surrounding desert both require hands-on relationships with the past. In the desert, I’m learning about a revered landscape’s visual history through physical exploration. In the darkroom, with the golden paper, I’m exploring what sorts of meaningful artistic creations remain possible with a forgotten, historical medium.