Online Group Exhibition - "Toy Stories” September 2021
Analog Forever Magazine is pleased to showcase 35 images in this month’s online exhibition, entitled “Toy Stories,” curated by fine art photographer, independent curator, and founder of PhotoNOLA, Jennifer Shaw!
Jennifer had this to say about this month’s exhibition:
Plastic cameras are such simple tools. But, oh the mystery, magic, sparkle and glow they can provide when luck and serendipity align with practice and purpose! The images selected for this exhibition move beyond mere technique, balancing form and content to allude to larger stories. Some are funny, some are dark, some are quiet, and some capture decisive moments as well as any rangefinder.
The basis of the call was to find images that utilize toy cameras and/or plastic lenses in the service of storytelling. The Latin roots of the word photograph mean “to write with light”, and these images do exactly that, creating narratives in which the viewer’s mind can wander. Sometimes a plastic camera’s inherent quirks can overwhelm an image, but these artists have managed those aspects in nuanced ways which support, rather than overshadow, their messages. There’s much to enjoy here, and I encourage you to spend some time getting lost in the work.
In the process of reviewing submissions, I was pleased to look at a variety of visions and styles. In the end, I chose images that continued to transport, engage, and delight me after repeated viewings. As for selecting a favorite, I’m giving my nod to “Transforming” by Jay Phyfer, which continued to speak to me every time I came back to it. The image resonates with an absolute purity of light, form, beauty, and so much tenderness. I found it deceptively simple, and emotionally complex.
Thank you to all of the artists who submitted work, and to Analog Forever for providing a platform to celebrate lo-fi photography. We asked for complex images from simple cameras and you delivered, proving that toys, in the hands of artists, can be serious tools indeed.
~ Jennifer Shaw
GALLERY
About the Curator
Jennifer Shaw is a photographer whose work embraces both a world observed and a world constructed. Known for her use of toy cameras and a playful approach to serious subjects, she has recently been experimenting with photogravure. Shaw graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in photography, then moved to New Orleans in pursuit of the artist’s life. She founded PhotoNOLA, the city’s annual festival of photography, and served as its creative director from 2006 – 2019.
Jennifer has juried contests and exhibitions for One-One Thousand, Three Rivers Arts Festival, POPCAP ‘14, Sony World Photography Awards, and British Journal of Photography’s Portrait of Humanity. Her curatorial experience includes I’ll Be Your Mirror at HomeSpace Gallery in New Orleans, Gathering and summertime at A. Smith Gallery in Johnson City, TX, the Somerville Toy Camera Festival in Somerville, MA, and Life of Water at the Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO.
Her own photographs have been published in two artist monographs: Hurricane Story (Chin Music Press, 2011) and Nature/Nurture (North Light Press, 2012). In 2020, Shaw was one of three finalists for the 1858 Prize for Contemporary Southern Art. She is represented by the Cole Pratt Gallery in New Orleans.