September 9- October 22

Opening reception September 9, 6-10 pm

Actual Size Los Angeles is pleased to present Come And See, an exhibition of unique photographic works by Evan Whale. For the past two years Whale has documented locations in California with high seismic activity. He carves and chemically strips the photographic surfaces of his prints to transcribe corresponding seismic movements that were recorded when the photograph was taken. The images in Come And See abstract and aestheticize scientific certainty through painstaking manipulation and destruction of the print. These vibrant images read like Byzantine icons encircled or bordered by haloes of radiating waves. They explore questions of human control while issuing a cautionary warning that we must ready ourselves for the long-overdue rupture of the southern San Andreas fault. In the book of revelation “come and see" is a repeated invitation by the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse to bear witness to their destruction. Whale invokes the same invitation so that we might ponder the unseen tectonic forces that are poised to unleash a natural disaster of biblical proportions. 

 

Through segmented views of the landscape Whale draws from a long line of photographers who regarded the west with a sublime reverence and wonder. Each print is a unique reminder of what hangs in the balance. Whale works against the democratic notion of photographic reproducibility by using mark making strategies that have been employed by abstract expressionist and minimalist artists.  In this process driven method he invites the viewer to consider the powerful reality that faces us and to what extent we are willing to acknowledge it or work towards our collective survival. 

 

 

Evan Whale was born in Washington D.C, he lives and works in Los Angeles California. This is his first solo exhibition in Los Angeles. Whale received an M.F.A from Yale University and a B.A from Bard College. Solo exhibitions include i heard, as it were, the noise of thunder, 321 Gallery, Brooklyn, NY; Color Space, Trinity College, Hartford, CT; and Dye Transfers, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY. Whale has participated in group exhibitions at The FLAG Art Foundation, New York, NY; Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris Pantin, Paris, France;  Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg Villa Kast, Salzburg, Austria; and Austin Center For Photography, Austin. 

 

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Open Saturday and Sunday 1:00- 5:00 and by appointment 

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