Fulhame’s Map
to
Nanaimo Art Gallery 150 Commercial Street, Nanaimo, British Columbia V9R 5G6
Hannah Maynard, "A multiple exposure self portrait by Hannah Maynard," 1890
glass plate negative.Courtesy of Royal BC Museum and Archives
Opening Friday, April 6, 7 pm
Please join us on Saturday, April 7 at 2 pm for a talk by Montreal-based photographer Jessica Eaton.
Fabiola Carranza, Sara Cwynar, Jessica Eaton, Allison Hrabluik, Hannah Maynard, and Nicole Kelly Westman
Fulhame’s Map is an exhibition named after the work of Elizabeth Fulhame, an 18th century Scottish chemist who is known for her experiments with light sensitive materials. In 1794 she wrote that maps could be made using silver chemistry inscribed by the actions of light. This was essentially a photographic process, and the first recorded instance of such a discovery. Her work was remarkable, not only for the revolutionary potential of her ideas, but also for her ability to persevere in a society hostile to the achievements of women. While her experiments did not create lasting images, Fulhame’s concepts were fixed in the form of her essay With a View to a New Art of Dying and Painting, which became a catalyst for the development of photography.
This exhibition features contemporary and historical artworks that echo Fulhame’s experimental approach. In Fulhame’s Map, photographic, video, and installation works by Fabiola Carranza, Sara Cwynar, Jessica Eaton, Allison Hrabluik, Hannah Maynard, and Nicole Kelly Westman, tell the stories that surround static pictures, and highlight the intertwined relationships between images and objects. Navigating the language of photography, Fulhame’s Map is the first project in a year in which Nanaimo Art Gallery asks the question: “How can we speak differently?” through exhibitions, educational programs and off-site events.