In the current technological climate, it is impossible to clearly define the edges of the photographic medium. Over the last three decades, lens-based imaging has experienced a complete upheaval, rendering binary distinctions between what is and is not photographic entirely arbitrary. Today, many emerging artists are pushing to hybridize the medium, lifting the traditional image off of the wall and feathering its edges in an effort to critically restructure and reappraise the existing conditions of photography.

The representational yet exclusionary nature of the medium necessitates a meaningful and critical engagement with its histories. For as long as the camera has been employed, it has been the responsibility of photographic artists to both scrutinize and tend to these legacies. When we look back at the progression of photographic imaging, we discover a consistent desire to expand on what has come before and honour the undertakings of our predecessors. With this onus in mind, we are able to imagine the photographic canon not as an isolated, distant past, but as a community of makers invested in evolving the photographic medium to its fullest potential.

Legacy situates its works along this continuum with the next generation of innovators and contributors. Utilizing video projection, sculptural installation, wearable textiles, and the still image, each artist’s work complicates notions of the pure photograph and annotates previous instigations. Recognizing the efforts of the communities that have formed them, the featured artists interrogate the ambiguous nature of photography and endeavor to expand the photographic event beyond the surface. When we view ourselves not as disparate entities but as a collective of producers in conversation, we are able to envision an increasingly multi-faceted future for the photographic medium and a more equitable world.

 

CURATORIAL TEAM :

Kenna Robinson
Creative and Curatorial Director

Joon-Young Lee
Financial Director

Madison Chow
Student Communications and Social Media Director

Tanvi Parikh
Project Manager

Amanda Michele
Web Coordinator