Working in the Dark
JOHN HANEY
November 11 to December 3, 2016
OPENING RECEPTION: Saturday, November 12, 2:00-5:00pm
JOHN HANEY
November 11 to December 3, 2016
OPENING RECEPTION: Saturday, November 12, 2:00-5:00pm
Armature. 10 elements. Each element is a 16” x 20” toned silver gelatin photogram on rag paper, mounted to Dibond. 2016.
John Haney’s practice is rooted in documentary-style photography and analogue/alternative processes that have until recently centred around conveying clear visual information. Increasingly interested in photographic materiality as a bridge to his sculpture and printmaking work, and weary of digital image proliferation, Haney began experimenting in earnest with abstraction. What happens when abstract images clearly depict some ambiguous yet “real” form — a form directly stencilled off real objects? How can the sequencing of positive and negative evoke meaning through thresholds and interstitial space? Given our constant hunger for information, what happens in our brain when that information becomes garbled? Existing in the liminal space between representation and abstraction, three related bodies of work explore what writer Lyle Rexer calls the “undisclosed image.”
A faithful darkroom practitioner, Haney explores multiple ways of image-making that happen not under the dim glow of a safelight, but in complete darkness, using intuition, feel, and guesswork to make “blind” compositions. Two series in the exhibition take as their starting point a severely rusted, hand-made grappling hook, or anchor, Haney found on a cobble beach in Newfoundland. At one point, this relic, now long useless, did its work when submerged in dark water. Now, like Haney’s process, it becomes a metaphor.
About John Haney
John Haney was born in Toronto in 1978. He holds a BA from Mount Allison University and an MFA from the University of Guelph. Haney’s photography, sculpture, and collaborative projects have been exhibited in Canada, the US, and Germany. His work was a Feature Exhibition at the 2012 Scotiabank Contact Photography Festival, in the same year that he was nominated for the Scotiabank Photography Award. He was long-listed for the 2011 Sobey Art Award in the Atlantic category. Haney is a member of the Hamilton-based band/art collective SHIT PYRE. He is represented by Christina Parker Gallery and Emerson Gallery Berlin. He lives in Hamilton, Ontario, with his wife — writer and editor Amanda Jernigan — their two sons, and faithful dog.
John Haney’s practice is rooted in documentary-style photography and analogue/alternative processes that have until recently centred around conveying clear visual information. Increasingly interested in photographic materiality as a bridge to his sculpture and printmaking work, and weary of digital image proliferation, Haney began experimenting in earnest with abstraction. What happens when abstract images clearly depict some ambiguous yet “real” form — a form directly stencilled off real objects? How can the sequencing of positive and negative evoke meaning through thresholds and interstitial space? Given our constant hunger for information, what happens in our brain when that information becomes garbled? Existing in the liminal space between representation and abstraction, three related bodies of work explore what writer Lyle Rexer calls the “undisclosed image.”
A faithful darkroom practitioner, Haney explores multiple ways of image-making that happen not under the dim glow of a safelight, but in complete darkness, using intuition, feel, and guesswork to make “blind” compositions. Two series in the exhibition take as their starting point a severely rusted, hand-made grappling hook, or anchor, Haney found on a cobble beach in Newfoundland. At one point, this relic, now long useless, did its work when submerged in dark water. Now, like Haney’s process, it becomes a metaphor.
About John Haney
John Haney was born in Toronto in 1978. He holds a BA from Mount Allison University and an MFA from the University of Guelph. Haney’s photography, sculpture, and collaborative projects have been exhibited in Canada, the US, and Germany. His work was a Feature Exhibition at the 2012 Scotiabank Contact Photography Festival, in the same year that he was nominated for the Scotiabank Photography Award. He was long-listed for the 2011 Sobey Art Award in the Atlantic category. Haney is a member of the Hamilton-based band/art collective SHIT PYRE. He is represented by Christina Parker Gallery and Emerson Gallery Berlin. He lives in Hamilton, Ontario, with his wife — writer and editor Amanda Jernigan — their two sons, and faithful dog.
Critical Reviews
John Haney's exhibition Working in the Dark was reviewed by DayQuil polyglot Stephanie Vegh on Critical Superbeast
"I leave The Assembly shaky yet satisfied in the hunt for meaning among Haney’s deftly played riddles.Sometimes it’s better to be kept in the dark."
John Haney's exhibition Working in the Dark was reviewed by DayQuil polyglot Stephanie Vegh on Critical Superbeast
"I leave The Assembly shaky yet satisfied in the hunt for meaning among Haney’s deftly played riddles.Sometimes it’s better to be kept in the dark."
