Blood in the Water by Brandon Thomas Brown (Brooklyn, New York, USA) is a piece full of secrets. Into a found frame, the artist collages LIFE Magazine cut-outs with his own photograph of the artist Shacar he took on a beach in Ghana. The portrait can be removed to reveal more of the artwork. On the back of the piece is a Polaroid of a street art tag on an electrical box that is set against a vintage postcard of Maroon Bells, Aspen, Colorado. The tag reads, “Stay strong, nigga”: advice for the man in the photograph on the front who is contemplating ancestry and slavery.
Blood in the Water
by Brandon Thomas Brown
13.5”x15.25”x1.25”; LIFE Magazine cut-outs, acrylic paint, laser printed artist photograph, iPhoneography-street photograph digitally printed on Instax instant film in found/repurposed picture frame with vintage postcard on back; 2024
This artwork is part of the exhibition, Camera & Collage.
The exhibition brings together artists from Australia, Kuwait, Mexico, Canada, and the United States each of whom have developed a practice that sits at the intersection of collage and photography. The exhibition is on view at Kolaj Institute Gallery through 25 January 2025 as part of PhotoNOLA 2024, an annual celebration of photography in New Orleans, produced by the New Orleans Photo Alliance in partnership with museums, galleries, and alternative venues citywide. The exhibition is the third in a series in which Kolaj Institute is exploring the intersection of Photography & Collage. LEARN MORE