Illuminati
Illuminati
All of the works in the Illuminati series are photograms – cameraless prints created by placing objects directly onto photographic paper, and exposing this arrangement to light in a darkroom. In a translucent object this creates an image akin to a photographic negative. The images suggest something biological and primordial, or seem to be symbols of the unconscious. The imagery is presented in triptychs, diptychs, and single image works.
“Khalsa examines positive and negative in his photograms that depict a spiral of circada carcasses and the papery folds of a wasp’s nest. Khalsa finds beauty in the vestiges of life, the casings and detritus that are evidence of metamorphoses.”
Stuart Reid – Swarm: Insects and Contemporary Art
Note: The cameraless creation of imagery has been a part of photography since Fox Talbot made the first photograms – which he named “photogenic drawings” at the beginning of photography in 1834. Other notable practitioners of this method include Anna Atkins, Man Ray, and more recently Adam Fuss.