Albert Chong
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installations i-traits Thrones artist portraits Jamaican portraits color still lifes Photomosaics Monochromatic Still Lifes Panoramic Photographs Projections Botanical & Other Observations Layered Associations Inscribed Copper Matted Photographs Portraits Baker's Dozen-The Thrones:Portfolios of 13 Photographs in Wood Boxes Baker's Dozen-Color Still Life Photographs Baker's Dozen- I-Traits:A Portfolio of 13 Photographs Baker's Dozen - Jamaican Portraits
artist statement biography
GALLERIES installations i-traits Thrones artist portraits Jamaican portraits color still lifes Photomosaics Monochromatic Still Lifes Panoramic Photographs Projections Botanical & Other Observations Layered Associations Inscribed Copper Matted Photographs Portraits Baker's Dozen-The Thrones:Portfolios of 13 Photographs in Wood Boxes Baker's Dozen-Color Still Life Photographs Baker's Dozen- I-Traits:A Portfolio of 13 Photographs Baker's Dozen - Jamaican Portraits NEWS
Albert Chong
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Monochromatic Still Lifes

 

The construction of the still life image assumes a primacy akin to an act of a sacred ritual. The objects become more than just props for the artists, but objects of power for the Shaman. The still life becomes in effect a shrine, an altar, an offering, a configuration of power to attract and appease the unseen forces.

This work evolved from photographing details of the sets in the I-Traits series. Independently of the series, Chong started to incorporate formal techniques such as making images within a 4x5 inch area. The pictures became so elaborate in imagery and ritualized in process, that it eventually pointed the way for the installation works. Formal techniques such as montage, rephotography, reuse of existing imagery, layering of images, and solarisation figure prominently in the construction of the images.

The still lifes represent the largest portion of the artist’s photographic work. It is also the most continuous, in that he has always assembled objects for photographic documentation, searching with the camera for the hidden meanings for the existence of these things and the spaces they inhabit. Chong is fascinated by how their meanings change in relation to their juxtaposition and arrangement with other objects. This fascination also extends to objects of an organic nature such as bones feathers leaves or shells anything that was once part of a living organism is still possessed of a small amount of its life force. It is this life force that powers the still life, much like the throwing of bones or shells by the shaman for divination, the assemblage of the objects functions in much the same way.

 
The Two Sisters, 1987
The Two Sisters, 1987

The Two Sisters, 1987

Thistle & Thorn, 2008

Thistle & Thorn, 2008

Four Fishes, 1983

Four Fishes, 1983

Aunt Winnie's Story, 1996

Aunt Winnie's Story, 1996

The Sisters, 1986

The Sisters, 1986

Longhorn Nest With Eggs, 1992

Longhorn Nest With Eggs, 1992

Otabenga, 2002

Otabenga, 2002

Leaping Rat, 1985

Leaping Rat, 1985

Passages & Totems, 1990

Passages & Totems, 1990

Pigeon With Silver Balls & Glass Shard, 1987

Pigeon With Silver Balls & Glass Shard, 1987

Knife , Fork & Feather, 1986

Knife , Fork & Feather, 1986

White Lies, 1987

White Lies, 1987

For The Baron 1987.jpg
What Will Be Your Next Incarnation, 1992

What Will Be Your Next Incarnation, 1992

As Vulcanization Proceeds, 1988 Version 2

As Vulcanization Proceeds, 1988 Version 2

We Believe, 2005

We Believe, 2005

The Red Altar, 1986

The Red Altar, 1986

The Account, 2001

The Account, 2001

Rock-Stone Shrine, 1990

Rock-Stone Shrine, 1990

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Previous Next
The Two Sisters, 1987
Thistle & Thorn, 2008
Four Fishes, 1983
Aunt Winnie's Story, 1996
The Sisters, 1986
Longhorn Nest With Eggs, 1992
Otabenga, 2002
Leaping Rat, 1985
Passages & Totems, 1990
Pigeon With Silver Balls & Glass Shard, 1987
Knife , Fork & Feather, 1986
White Lies, 1987
For The Baron 1987.jpg
What Will Be Your Next Incarnation, 1992
As Vulcanization Proceeds, 1988 Version 2
We Believe, 2005
The Red Altar, 1986
The Account, 2001
Rock-Stone Shrine, 1990
GALLERIESAboutConnect

Boulder,COLORADO, USA  •St. Catherine, JAMAICA, West Indies