Opening Reception: April 6th 5-8PM
just wait until next year reads as both mantra and title of conceptual artist and photographer Simone Fischer’s solo exhibition, opening April 6th at after/time Collective & Gallery. The suite of works on display reflects Fischer’s arduously detailed practice of etching imagery onto large-scale steel plates as an exercise of reflection and clarity. The nuanced hues of blacks and grays reveal careful subtlety even in their neutrality while Fischer’s own hand in the craft expertly navigates the tenacity of the process. Fischer explores photography and the poetics of steel as an elemental relative connecting the relationship between blood, bodies, memory and iron. This exhibition exists as a reminder to remain resilient and see the opportunity for growth in moments of spiraling uncertainty. While the present may at times appear obscured, much like revealing the layers in a steel etching, there is light underneath the surface.
“There are two ways you can treat the surface of steel: chemically, or physically. I prefer brushing the blemishes of my past life with an angle grinder. The dizzying combination of wire bristles, 60 grit faces, and speed wipe away the detritus to reveal the slick and shiny guts of the internal. If your power goes out, you can drive down to American Scientific, where you can ask them for a quart of nitric acid to chemically etch your steel. They will question your motives, so just tell them you’re an artist, but that won’t comfort them at all. When you get home, pull out your 4x8 foot acid vat and prepare the bath. My mentor didn’t wear chemical gloves but told me to keep some baking soda nearby, just in case, because it neutralizes the acid. See? It doesn’t hurt, but eight years is a long time. Gently, very gently slide the steel into the acid until it is fully submerged. You can watch time pass through the rust particles that begin to unravel, the surface (like an apparition), revealing those slick guts I warned you about. During the biggest transition of my life, I photographed my way through it because I can’t see anything until it was a picture.”
This exhibition is inspired by femme mobility and supports women and families seeking safety and independence from domestic abuse. just wait until next year has partnered with the Raphael House of Portland and 50% of all proceeds from this exhibition will be donated to the organization. This exhibition was generously supported by The Hallie Ford Foundation and Portland Institute of Contemporary Art (PICA). In conjunction, programming will include an artist panel talk hosted