Wet Plate portraits by Matthew Gordon and Jim Maginn

The John Hewitt

28 April - 28 May 2016

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A two person show of contemporary Wet Plate portraits by Matthew Gordon and Jim Maginn.

Wet plate / Collodion technology revolutionised the photographic world in the early 1850s. Much in the same way that digital supplanted film.

It was in the ascendency for about 30 years, but was replaced by better technology. The hand made, pre-industrial nature of the process means that each plate is prepared exposed and processed all within 20 minutes. Therefore a darkroom has to be on hand.

In the modern era there has been a renaissance.  People are eschewing the perfection and mega pixel fixation of digital. The lengthy process and handmade qualities of the wet plates are the very things that make it attractive.

Incredibly more photographs have been taken in the last two minutes than during the entire 19^th century.