Thread between Darkness and Light
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Author: Stella Brennan
This haunting photo book by Stella Brennan began with the gift of a painting. Investigating the artist behind the painting led Brennan to an 1897 photograph of her great-great-aunt Louise Laurent with her female classmates – students at the same art school Brennan attended a century later. Struck by this uncanny affinity with her previously unknown ancestor, Brennan embarked on a journey of research and revelation. This book collects her archival findings of the life of her ancestor.Cold-calling long-lost relatives, she unearthed an archive of Ddwardian glass plate negatives, which a cousin had carefully preserved since Louise’s death in the 1960s. Despite being cracked and marred by mould and dirt, Brennan meticulously scanned the 300 fragile plates. Her first realisation of Louise Laurent and her husband William Winn’s 100 year-old archive was an immersive installation of 36 translucent silk banners, displayed in 2023 at Te whare Toi, City Gallery Wellington.This book delves deeper into these historical images, juxtaposing the passage of time with startlingly contemporary framingsand content. Simultaneously, the extreme damage sustained by some of the negatives, the cracked glass, peeling emulsion and blooms of mould speak to the time between then and now. It is this tension that animates the project – this superimposition of time and place. The book is accompanied by an evocative collaborative essay that enlarges the historical and material context."Thread Between Darkness and Light" is not just a photobook; it’s a poignant bridge across generations, a tapestry woven from the traces of the past into the light of the present.The book is designed by Alice Bonifant, produced in full colour from the direct scans of original glass plates and with duo-tone text pages, encased in a printed cloth hardcover.
ISBN 9781991165244. Rim Books. hb. 120 pages. 50 ills. 26.8 x 20.7 cm.
available
This haunting photo book by Stella Brennan began with the gift of a painting. Investigating the artist behind the painting led Brennan to an 1897 photograph of her great-great-aunt Louise Laurent with her female classmates – students at the same art school Brennan attended a century later. Struck by this uncanny affinity with her previously unknown ancestor, Brennan embarked on a journey of research and revelation. This book collects her archival findings of the life of her ancestor.Cold-calling long-lost relatives, she unearthed an archive of Ddwardian glass plate negatives, which a cousin had carefully preserved since Louise’s death in the 1960s. Despite being cracked and marred by mould and dirt, Brennan meticulously scanned the 300 fragile plates. Her first realisation of Louise Laurent and her husband William Winn’s 100 year-old archive was an immersive installation of 36 translucent silk banners, displayed in 2023 at Te whare Toi, City Gallery Wellington.This book delves deeper into these historical images, juxtaposing the passage of time with startlingly contemporary framingsand content. Simultaneously, the extreme damage sustained by some of the negatives, the cracked glass, peeling emulsion and blooms of mould speak to the time between then and now. It is this tension that animates the project – this superimposition of time and place. The book is accompanied by an evocative collaborative essay that enlarges the historical and material context."Thread Between Darkness and Light" is not just a photobook; it’s a poignant bridge across generations, a tapestry woven from the traces of the past into the light of the present.The book is designed by Alice Bonifant, produced in full colour from the direct scans of original glass plates and with duo-tone text pages, encased in a printed cloth hardcover.
ISBN 9781991165244. Rim Books. hb. 120 pages. 50 ills. 26.8 x 20.7 cm.
available