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Black historical figures such as Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King Jr. peer out at viewers from behind layers of paper and shadows. The photographs, taken by photographer Aaron Turner, mix historical images with modern abstract photography, all in black and white.

Turner’s exhibit, “Aaron Turner: Black Alchemy Backwards/Forwards,” is on view at Light Work until March 4. There is also an opportunity to ask Turner questions about the exhibit during a live session moderated by Mary Lee Hodgens, the associate director of Light Work, on Thursday from 6-7 p.m.

The inspiration for the exhibit came from Turner’s own reflections on experiences he had growing up and how he engaged with art history. He made the first volume of the “Black Alchemy” series while he was in graduate school and the second volume when he was an artist-in-residence at Light Work in 2018.

Throughout the “Black Alchemy” series, Turner is reflecting on the role of Black artists within the art industry.

“I’m thinking about the past and how that informs the present,” Turner said. “So I’m using the past and the present to talk about, or speculate about the future.”

The word “Black” in the exhibit’s title refers to both race and the color black in terms of the absence of light, while the word “alchemy” refers to the chemical process of developing the film in the darkroom, Turner said. In addition to King, the exhibit also has images of Sidney Poitier, Marvin Gaye and artist David Hammons.

Hodgens worked with Turner while he was an artist-in-residence. She was always intrigued by how he creates his art by combining objects, archives, appropriated images and cut up photographs, which he then collages back together.

“He’s interested in black itself as a metaphor for race but also as a tool that’s often used by abstract painters,” Hodgens said. “There is no question that there is a richness to black that people have an emotional response to.”

Light Work made the decision to not put plexiglass over the images, Hodgens said, because it would make the surface of the photographs seem mirrored, taking away from the details in the different shades of black.

It took three or four days to print all of the images. Becky Marris, a printmaker at Light Work, worked with Turner to make sure the prints were to his liking and that the images held up at the large size they were being printed at.

“I really like the way he’s photographing these materials, so thinking about the process that goes into each photograph is something that I think about when I look at his work,” Marris said.

Outside of being a photographer, Turner is the founder of The Center for Photographers of Color at the University of Arkansas. He also is a teacher, writer, independent curator and the host of the center’s podcast.

The inspiration for Aaron Turner’s exhibit came from reflections on experiences he had growing up and how he engaged with art history. Courtesy of Cjala Surratt

During his residency, Turner created photographs that contain images of Frederick Douglass, titled “Seen #1” and “Seen #2.” The 19th-century photographs of Douglass represent his timeless legacy and relevance today.

“That photograph is as much about Frederick Douglass as it is about how photography is used in representation historically of Black people,” Turner said.

To Hodgens, Turner is an example of a true “lifelong learner” as he continues to learn and teach others. He is able to give a lot of information about Black artists that are working with abstraction and inspire students with the wide range of things he has been able to accomplish, Hodgens said.

Turner hopes that by looking at the exhibit people can see the relevancy of using historical images in modern contexts while also gaining an appreciation for abstract art.

“For figures like Marvin Gaye, Sidney Poitier and Martin Luther King Jr. there are these figures that play these monumental roles in history,” Turner said. “But actually what I’m trying to do in my work is put them in a different light, to sort of see their legacy from a different light.”

Published on February 16, 2021 at 10:09 pm

Contact Sydney: sabergan@syr.edu