Fotomuseum Antwerp Acquires work by Alison Rossiter

Alison Rossiter's "Gevaert Gevaluxe Velours, exact expiration date unknown, ca. 1930s, processed 2020 (#2)" (2020) has been acquired by Fotomuseum Antwerp (FOMU) in Belgium.

 

In this work, Rossiter uses a unique technique to emphasize the paper type: Gevaluxe Velours and highlight the paper's qualities. By wetting the sheet and selectively dipping only the lower part in developer, she creates implied horizon lines. This deliberate approach plays with the upper and lower sections, where the bare paper suggests the sky, while inky washes evoke a dusk landscape. The streaks and marks present in the lower section of the paper offer insights into its history and past encounters with light. These traces of exposure to daylight reveal that the paper was unfurled and briefly subjected to natural illumination at some point during its journey through time. By incorporating these marks into her compositions, Rossiter highlights the tangible connection between the paper's physicality and its photographic essence.

 

The work will be included in Outdated Paper? Photographic Papers from the Gevaert Archive, a group exhibition about the history of Gevaluxe papers at FOMU, opening to the public on May 31 and on view through August 18, 2024.

 

Fotomuseum Antwerp, on the occasion of their acquisition of Alison Rossiter's work and her inclusion in Outdated Paper?, visited the artist in her studio and produced the following video:

 

More information Outdated Paper? can be found on the Fotomuseum Antwerp's website.