Somatic Silver
Bridget Conn
January 7 - February 19, 2027
Opening Reception: January 7, 5:30-7pm
Free and open to the public
JCC Indianapolis Art Gallery
6701 Hoover Road, Indianapolis, 46260
Bridget Conn’s series Somatic Silver features cameraless, abstract, colorful analog photographs created from plant life found in two locations that have been important for the artist – Western North Carolina and South Central Indiana. In these geographies Conn learned about the gift of seasonality, the importance of living in the present moment, and an investigation of nature as a method of grounding in challenging times.
Bridget Conn writes of Somatic Silver:
“Through the approach of experimental analog photography, my work concerns societal struggles, awe and wonder, challenges in communication, digitized vs. physical encounters, and the importance of making and admitting mistakes. The works in this exhibition address these themes with cameraless photographs that I create from plant life found in Western North Carolina and South Central Indiana.
The original images are lumen prints, made from traditional silver gelatin paper that is used in the black and white darkroom, which in the case of lumens is instead exposed to sunlight. The paper turns color due to this exposure and from the interaction with plant chemicals. The prints are additionally treated with cyanotype and darkroom chemistry to widen their range of color and value. The process celebrates serendipity, as the results are greatly influenced by temperature, humidity, quality of light, and time of year. As such, the prints are documents of not just the plant life pictured, but of the moment and geography in which they are created.
The 24-hour news cycle is a recent phenomenon in the arc of human history that I believe has altered our brains and created unprecedented anxiety in our society. As it reports on so many events that are out of my direct control, I find strength in recording and existing in the present moment through these seasonal blooms. I believe it is a privilege to be able to make art in these times, but I also find it to be necessary when media messaging dictates that people panic and freeze instead. These works are a practice in observation of the tangible — an antidote to the information exhaustion of our online existence.”
Somatic Silver by Bridget Conn is hosted by JCC Indianapolis and produced by Aurora PhotoCenter. Selected print reproductions from Somatic Silver are available for sale at the opening and throughout the exhibitions run at the JCC Welcome Desk.
Bridget Conn is a photographic artist who explores the potential of photography as a chemical and physical medium through cameraless experimental processes. Conn investigates the boundaries of photography with prints, wall installations, and sculptural works. She received her BFA from Tulane University and MFA from the University of Georgia. She currently resides in Nashville, Indiana, USA.
Conn’s awards include Analog Sparks 2026, shortlists for the 2023 and 2024 Denis Roussel Fellowship, Klompching Gallery’s FRESH 2022 exhibition finalist, and rfotofolio’s 2021 Denis Roussel Awards. She has exhibited at Gallery 1/1 in Seattle, the Center for Fine Art Photography in Fort Collins, CO, the Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester, MA, Candela Books + Gallery in Richmond, VA, The Halide Project in Philadelphia PA, the Chiang Mai Photography Festival in Thailand, and the Institute of Photographic Studies of Catalonia in Spain. Her work has been featured in Lenscratch, Analog Forever Magazine, The Hand Magazine, Exposure Magazine, Aeonian Magazine, Focal Plane Journal, and in Christina Z. Anderson’s 2022 book “The Experimental Darkroom”.
Conn is the founder and former director of The Asheville Darkroom in Asheville, North Carolina. An enthusiastic educator, she teaches through Penumbra Foundation in NYC and Ágora School of Experimentation online. She has offered workshops through Penland School of Crafts in NC, the Experimental Photo Festival in Spain, conferences for the Society for Photographic Education, and numerous colleges, universities, and photography organizations across the US. She is currently establishing The Experimental Photo Kitchen, a darkroom teaching facility on her property in southern Indiana.